A phone lights up with a follow notification from Instagram. The username seems familiar, however it is not recognizable enough to deduce. Who could this mysterious person be? How did they follow that account?

Junior Julia Pope saw a similar notification on her phone several weeks ago.The username appeared to be her friend, but she was confused because she thought her friend was already following her. However, this wasn’t her friend’s main account, but their fake Instagram.

“I found about fake Instagrams through a friend. One of them had one and followed me, and I was like ‘What is this?’” said Pope.

Privacy is growing increasingly hard to find in today’s world. With nearly 78% of Americans using social media, it has become difficult to find a private space on the internet where one can truly express themselves. However, “fake Instagrams” or “finstas” for short, have been popping up to fill this void. Pope herself decided to join this social movement in search of privacy.

“I just post whatever I want to post that I feel like I can’t get away with on my real Insta. Everyone has their own way of expressing things, and this is just another way to do it,” said Pope.

Having the ability to post as much as she wants to only a select amount of individuals helps to keep her personal life separate from her public life. Sophomore Braxton Bowen also uses a private account, but to showcase his interests.

“I like plants, but I didn’t want to post them on my personal. I just wanted to have them separate,” said Bowen.

Whether for privacy purposes or for posting specific interests, fake Instagram accounts have a variety of purposes. However, to some students, having a separate account out of the public eye is seen as sketchy. For senior Sandra Vargas, previous experiences have led her to look down on private accounts.

“The other day, this girl came up to me and she was just like ‘Hey, you followed me on Instagram!’ and I was just like no I didn’t and she showed me the account and there were only three posts. Someone’s creeping up on me,” said Vargas.

After this experience, Vargas sees side accounts as a way to snoop or bully other individuals. Senior Serena McClarrinon also agrees that these accounts are dishonest, however she also sees the positive aspects.

“I think they use their fake Instagrams to portray who they actually are versus their real Instagrams that are the ideal versions of themselves. It’s kind of untruthful because if the point in having an Instagram is to showcase what you’re doing, and if you’re using you’re fake Instagram for things that aren’t really what’s happening in your life, then that’s not okay,” said McClarrinon.

Although this accounts are considered untruthful, McClarrinon takes note that one cannot hide themselves on social media, as the internet is, and will always be a public place.

¨I think everyone has their own version [of fake Instagrams] because you can’t just hide your real self on every form of social media,” said McClarrinon.