since my senior year started i have screenshotted people's finsta or social media posts and created an anonymous video of my collection. i was inspired by young life who made a similar video including anonymous tweets that teenagers have posted. no names are used and no ones words are exploited, it’s not to make fun or be demeaning it’s just a reality check we all should see.
too often i find myself scrolling through my “finsta” posts, clicking through stories and see sad or concerning words and think nothing of it or don’t notice the seriousness. finstas or fake instagrams are a second instagram account most teenagers these days have and use to post what they wouldn’t want on their real instagram or “rinstas" to see. finstas can be a collection of inside jokes with friends, random, inappropriate, sad, or funny posts. but too often finstas are used as an outlet to sub post towards others. a sub post is an indirect post talking specifically about someone or something without mentioning their name. although a name is not mentioned most of the time it is figured out who or what the post is about and causes hurt feelings, drama and conflict.
the most concerning part of finstas to me is the normalization of the sad and hurtful posts. i come from a town where i and most teenagers here have seen first hand the effects of mental health and what can result from it. we are all seeing these posts everyday, and we become normalized to it and tend to not realize the seriousness of some people’s words. so often people post things that could be a cry for help or attention or just wishing someone would listen to them as they go through a tough time. people often either post little details or overly share about what they are going through and hope to get a response from others, get attention, get checked up on or just say what’s on their mind. when no one reaches out or worse; makes fun of the personal things others have posted the person who was doing the posting ends up feeling worse. we can’t rely on others to ask us what’s wrong from a social media post but many people find it easier to put words and feelings out on their finsta than to deal with their feelings head on. finstas have caused a wave of drama, problems, feeling left out, and normalized feelings about constant cries for help.
so you ask, why does anyone have one then?
i ask myself this question often too. the age of social media is not all bad and toxic in my opinion. my finsta and other social media accounts have helped me find college roommates, express myself, become closer with friends, connect with businesses, update myself on the news and see what friends are doing that i don’t get to see. social media is also an outlet to lose track of time, when needing an escape or to waste a little bit of time many people scroll through social media posts. this can be harmless if waiting for an airplane, an appointment or losing track of time. but unfortunately good things should come in moderation and social media is often misused and overused, and the negative effects can overcome the positives.
i feel we can all relate to this and can feel something from this post. social media has engulfed our lives and generation and many including myself don’t even realize how much of an affect it has had. the seriousness of our friends and peers words needs to be realized. every human wants to be loved, included and feel happy. everyone deserves to be listened to and checked up on, but unfortunately it’s often missed or ignored as humans today are caught up in their on lives and used to seeing the cries for help. it goes un cared about, talked about and ignored until its already a down ward spiral.
Comments