Social media use has been constantly increasing with people posting photos, jokes, and information about their everyday life in a very public manner. However, recently there has been a rise in high school and college students posting private things in a ‘private’ manner. Finstas, or fake Instagrams, have become a new outlet for students to post the controversial things they wouldn’t be able to on their public pages.

These ‘Finstas’ mostly include illegal activities, hardcore emotions, or just spam complaints about their everyday lives. These posts include ‘the morning after’ pictures, crying pictures, unsightly pictures of friends, or even other people just to poke fun at them. These posts can be rude, or just pointless. Usually, the account is private, and the owner of the account only lets close friends follow it so that all their personal information doesn’t get out. However, sometimes this just doesn’t work out, and the things they post can easily circulate.

The only reason some people do this is to make jokes about their nights or try to show off all the crazy and illegal things they do. That just isn’t a smart move, considering many people have gotten caught after posting things like this because the posts are easily screenshotted and sent around by so-called “friends.”

It’s understandable that some students want to be funny, reminisce about their memories, or vent about their issues. But social media isn’t quite the right outlet for this type of information. First of all, you probably won’t get help from these posts, and second, one screenshot has the ability to ruin your future. There are more private outlets for these types of stories, like a group message or your closest friends.

It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so to everyone who has some type of Finsta or fake account, it’s a good idea to delete it and move on to better outlets.