I have two Instagram accounts for myself – one main and one spam – but that doesn’t mean I’m living a double life. For Gen Z, having more than one account isn’t about hiding who we are, it’s about expressing ourselves the way we want to. It’s just the new normal.

While main accounts – also known as a Rinstas (‘Real Instagram’) – are more for creating an ideal aesthetic version of ourselves, spam accounts – also called Finstas (‘Fake Instagram’) or Sinstas (‘Second Instagram’) – are a place where we feel more comfortable posting raw materials from our everyday life with selected friends, away from public judgement.

On my main account, I don’t have any posts and only rarely post stories that are carefully picked and in my opinion ‘pretty’ enough to be shared with a wider audience – with mutuals and people I’m not too close with.

On this account, I post when there is something I feel is more valuable to share. For instance, when I’m on vacation, I’d take pictures that are aesthetically pleasing. It’s still me, but maybe with a bit more effort and filter.

Sometimes, parents don’t understand the purpose of having multiple accounts and see it as suspicious and secretive. But the core idea is not to hide something from them, but to create a space where we can feel authentic, vulnerable, silly and funny, without the feeling of being watched. Just like adults, who might have a professional account on LinkedIn and a personal one on Facebook, we try to separate different parts of our lives online.

Some might argue, “Why do you need two Instagram accounts? Can’t you just use Snapchat for private stuff or TikTok for fun?” Sure, those platforms are great, but they are not the same thing; each one has its own unique vibe.

Of course, not every teen feels the pressure to manage multiple social media accounts. For example, my best friend doesn’t even have a Finsta.

But just like when we meet someone new in real life, we don’t want to expose our entire personality from the get-go, so only sharing a laid-back version of you online mirrors that.

Remember, posting online can be stressful. But, while some people might create separate profiles to present different versions of themselves, many teens today are confident enough to stick with just one main account. They might not feel the need to ‘hide’ who they are, nor are they concerned about how others might judge them. For them, posting isn’t difficult, it’s more casual and fun.

For many of us though, it’s not about pressure or ‘faking’ an identity. It’s actually about freedom. It’s not about hiding our true selves, but more the liberty of choosing how different parts of our lives are displayed online.

Of course, freedom also comes with responsibility. We should still be careful who we engage with online – even in private spaces. Spam accounts should not be the place where dangerous or harmful content is normalised, because being private doesn’t mean you are automatically safe. We should definitely watch out for ourselves and be careful.