Fake Instagram accounts, now better known as “finstas”, have become quite the common thing for many San Luis Obispo High School students. For those who do not feel comfortable enough to share openly all their thoughts and opinions with the public body of people who follow one on Instagram, a fake account serves as the perfect substitute as a means of expression.

According to senior Haley Block, “I mainly want it just so I can post things only for my close friends.” This is the viewpoint shared by many finsta users, as Instagram’s model provides a good sharing platform, and if one edits its followers to only their closest friends, they can share things as personal as they want without having to worry about outside judgement.

Junior Emi Mulay uses her finsta because “the things that happen in my mind are much funnier than what I actually say so I want to put them on finsta to share them with people I trust.” Anyone who has seen another person’s finsta knows that it often consists of far too close up selfies with long, ranty captions expressing the way a person feels about a situation. Though these people could use their formal Instagram for the same posts, it is the controllability of who can see it that makes having a separate finsta so appealing.

So whether you have an opinion you only intend to share among friends, or you want to take a string of the ugliest selfies that you are capable of without judgement, perhaps a finsta is the right thing for you.