About two years ago, a trend began to take over Instagram. This movement is the ever-present “spam account.” I have a spam account, my best friend has a spam account, almost everyone I can think of that has a “main” account, also has a spam account. A spam account is roughly an account that teens usually make to post unpolished, personal pictures with close friends. But what is a spam account to Instagram users?

I made my spam account a couple years ago, just as they were becoming popular. I went through the big spam account, with upwards of two hundred followers, to the small spam, ranging in the twenties and thirties. Currently, my spam is a small place for trusted friends. I post about my day, how much I’m stressing over school or wanting to make plans for the weekend. I treat it like a big group chat. Some days I’ll post upwards of three photos and sometimes I’ll go mute for a week. But each spam account is different, so I set out to gain insight into the reasons behind other people’s spam accounts.

Kiah Martin ‘19 said she made her spam account around eighth or ninth grade because her best friend made one. Martin said her favorite thing about a spam account is “being able to rant and relate to other people about minor daily annoyances.” She uses her spam account as a place to complain about things that aren’t big enough to complain to the world about.

However, Jack Wenzel ‘19 made his spam account more recently, around the beginning of junior year. He likes his spam account because “[he’s] able to see what is going on in other people’s lives.” He also decided to make a spam account because his friends made their own. In contrast to Martin, Wenzel only posts about once a week about random things going on.

Jackson Elkins ‘18 shares a lot of the same views as Martin. “I like being able to keep up with all my friends in one place,” he said. He started using his spam his junior year and made it because he wanted to share his thoughts on a safe, private platform with all of his friends.

Not everybody needs a spam account; they’re just a fun addition to regular Instagram. It’s a platform where someone can be more open and honest about themselves. Just like having a Facebook or Twitter. Having a spam is a personal choice, but in my opinion, they’re great ways to connect.