Objective: This study explored the burgeoning youth practice of possessing a fake, secondary Instagram account known as a "Finsta" in relation to exposure to alcohol-related content and college drinking.
Participants: First-year university students with at least a primary Instagram account (N = 296) completed online surveys.
Method: Surveys assessed whether participants did or did not have a Finsta pre-matriculation (T1), Instagram alcohol content exposure one month into college (T2), and alcohol use at T1 and near the end of the first year (T3).
Results: Moderated mediation analysis revealed that having a Finsta at T1 was associated with greater exposure to alcohol-related posts at T2 and, for male but not female students, predicted heavier drinking at T3.
Conclusion: Findings are consistent with previous results suggesting that males may be more behaviorally impacted by peers' depictions of alcohol use on social media. This carries implications for social media-based intervention efforts targeting first-year students.
Keywords: College student drinking; Instagram; gender differences; social media.