Everyone is pretty familiar with the term “finstagram.” For those of you still living in the prehistoric age, let me catch you up to speed on what that term means.
A “finsta” or “fake Instagram” is a secondary private profile that users create to showcase the most ratchet parts of themselves. They add only their closest friends on this account and use it as their own private joke so to speak.
But what if there was another type of “finsta?” Instead of a “fake Instagram,” we refer to it as a “feel good Instagram.”
Those who really know me know that when it comes to my personal accounts, I can have a serious love/hate relationship. There are times when me and my Instagram account are best buds. Laughing at memes, connecting with friends and sharing bomb ass selfies. Other times, however, we need a serious break from each other. You know what they say about “too much of a good thing.”
With everything being so public nowadays, I don’t think it’s completely absurd to want to fall off the radar sometimes. I actually think it’s healthy to remove the giant microscope over your life and take a breather from being in everyone’s business. Or most importantly from everyone being in your business.
Cue the “feel good Instagram.” Or “finstagram 2.” This is something that I experimented with when I deactivated my personal Instagram account last month. The difference between a “feel good Instagram” and a “finstagram” is that no one in your circle of friends or acquaintances knows that this profile exists. It’s sole purpose is to create an identity separate of yourself and follow only accounts that genuinely make you feel good.
This means no old high school peers coming back to haunt your feeds. No comparing your life to that random girl you met on your Vegas trip that one time. No checking your stories every 30 minutes to see if a certain someone looked at it.
The whole point of a “feel good Insta” is to disconnect without actually disconnecting. It’s actively removing yourself from one audience and popping up in a completely new group of like minded individuals, content creators, artists, poets and all around cool people who have no idea who you are.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnT6g6l1if/
It’s actually kind of beautiful and mysterious in a weird, catfishing type of way.
When I decided to create this profile and experiment with this theory. I can honestly say that I felt like I was taking in a breath of fresh air. The pollution from my normal feeds was clouding up my mind and driving me towards insanity. But when I made my new profile, I was able to successfully surf the app freely, only exposing myself to the content I wanted readily available to me and not having to constantly worry about something popping up that I desperately wanted to avoid seeing.
All in all I think this a great tactic for someone who wants to take a break from Instagram but not want to completely be disconnected from the information that the app provides. It’s a fool proof way to ensure you’re exposing yourself to new topics while staying clear of all of your “friends’” digital nonsense. And who knows, maybe while you’re basking in your new online identity, you’ll make connections with people who have shared interests.
If you decide this isn’t the way to go. Remember you always have the mute button.
