Teens are creating fake identities on Instagram called Finstas. Should we worry?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}File photo - The Instagram application is seen on a phone screen August 3, 2017. (REUTERS)
An emerging trend on Instagram has experts raising a few eyebrows.
Teenagers create a fake Instagram account called a Finsta, usually with a smaller group of friends and family members. They experiment with alternate identities -- for example, acting like a jock and posting about their accomplishments before anyone else knows. Or they post about a new passion for screamo rock, but they are not ready to let everyone else know.
It’s mostly harmless, but the trend could lead to a much more serious problem related to how teens perceive reality. As psychiatrist Gayani DeSilva tells Fox News, teenagers might take the feedback from an alternate identity online way too seriously.
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“It’s a problem when teens create personas to appeal to others instead of creating personas that come from themselves,” she explained. “For instance, a preppy teen posting pictures of himself wearing goth clothes, posing in front of a wall with painted wings is totally normal and healthy. A teen who is struggling with self-image issues, posting pictures of her body and seeking comments to define her self esteem is unhealthy.”
Dr. Ken Castor, a noted youth expert and book author, says there’s an inherent desire to project a version of ourselves that we want to portray, which is not always accurate.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“For many teens on social media, projecting an alternate version of themselves can be an innocent, and often fun, experiment,” he says. “It’s the avatar effect, where a person can recreate themselves and seek an affirmation-rush from new networks. For some teens, however, a projected identity lures them into a place to hide, where they become numb to potential consequences, and lurk into more risky conversations and behaviors.”
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Jenna Clark, a Senior Behavioral Researcher at Duke University, told Fox News it’s not time to start worrying about Finstas, but it is time to start a discussion about them. It can lead to something she calls identity polarization, where expressed ideas become extreme.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“There are the risks of the online disinhibition effect – people can feel too free online, to the point where their self-expression goes too far,” she says. “This might lead people to build identities that are more extreme in values or perspectives than their true selves are inclined to be. If a young person is rewarded with likes or reshares for designing, say, an alt-right persona, they’re going to be encouraged to delve further into that method of self-expression.”
That said, there can be value in creating a fake identity online, says Clark. For some teens, it’s too easy to become pigeon-holed as, say, an athlete or a brainiac. A Finsta can help teens understand that our identity is much more complex than that.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Having a larger, more complex identity – that is, having more values and aspirations that are important to the self – is actually protective in a lot of ways,” says Clark. “Someone who puts all of their psychological eggs in one basket will be in trouble if their core self-concept is threatened. Think about the individual who defines themselves just by being intelligent: one academic failure is a huge blow to their self-esteem. A well-rounded individual who also prides themselves on being athletic or creative will have other potential routes for success.”
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In the end, the goal is to avoid extreme -- having multiple personalities online will become hard to manage, and harder to interpret feedback. For some, one identity is enough.