Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Veenstra, Aaron

Abstract

This thesis examines the multifarious presentation of one’s identity on a singular social network site through their usage of both “finsta” and “rinsta” accounts on Instagram. A rinsta is one’s primary and more public Instagram account. A finsta is a highly privatized secondary Instagram account that functions as a liminal space for users’ impression management engagements. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants who identified as having created a finsta account and thematic analysis was subsequently employed to understand how they conceptualized their motivations and behaviors within their constructed networks. It was found that users were motivated to create and maintain a finsta by a desire for privacy, social inclusion, and the freedom to generate content that would be considered socially unacceptable on rinsta. This socially unacceptable content was often humorous or emotionally expressive. Finstas are also characterized by in-depth communal interactions in comparison with the more superficial interactions on rinsta.

Extent

91 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00013702

Format

pdf

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