From freshmen to seniors, a new social media trend has been taking over: “finstas.” A finsta is simply another name for a separate Instagram account to escape the stress of social media judgment. For most students, they have a real account, known as a “rinsta,” but also have the  finsta. Although finstas have existed for a while, they gained popularity within the last year.

“It is a place to share funny moments and be yourself,” Miller said. “I don’t really care what I post on my finsta, and mostly only my friends follow it.”

Similarly to Miller, junior Miranda Toland likes having a finsta so other people can enjoy her posts.

“Everyone thought [my finsta] was really funny, and I just like making people laugh,” Toland said. “I can get a laugh out of it too.”

Like Miller and Toland, sophomore Johnathan Contreras enjoys his finsta because he can control what he sees as well as who can see his posts.

“I can view other people’s finsta and post what I want and only my real friends will be able to see it,” Contreras said.

There are a variety of different reasons that students create finstas. Freshman Abby Miller likes having one so that she can post anything she wants to.

While posting on one may seem like a harmless activity, finstas don’t always have a positive outcome. According to an anonymous source on the Silver Stars dance team, a team finsta resulted in trouble for her and her teammates last year after they posted inappropriate content.

“Our dance team did not make a very smart decision and we made a finsta that we thought was funny at the time, but was actually very offensive to many,” she said. “Not only our dance team looked bad, but our coach too.”

The source said the team had to take multiple steps to undo their actions.

“After we got in trouble for the account, we deleted all the posts and changed the account name,” she said. “Instagram doesn’t let you delete the account until 24 hours later, so we made sure everything was down and then deleted it.”

Junior Jake Klepac agrees that finstas can be a negative thing at times when people don’t agree with the content that he posts, like his political opinions and activities that he does.

“I seem to be a little bit more on the conservative side on my finsta, so people that don’t have the same viewpoints as me can get offended,” Klepac said. “Also, the activities I like to do can offend people, like hunting or fishing because it hurts animals.”

One of the differences between a person’s main account and a finsta is the change in their audience and the seriousness of the content. Freshman Ethan Mantel says the content on his finsta, which he has had for two months, is more humorous than his real account.

“[On my finsta] I just post funny pictures or pictures that I wouldn’t post on my real account,” Mantel said. “On my real account, I post more serious pictures.”

Likewise, junior Jake Klepac changes his content based on which account he is posting on.

“I feel like I’m more myself on my finsta,” Klepac said. “I’m more funny and creative. My real insta is of me and my buddies and what I like to do.”