Literary Pixie

By Sammy Ginsberg

As you definitely know, I’m back on social media again. One of my favorite things about being a teacher was not having to give a fuck about social media to have enough money to live.

Now that I am again working as a marketing/social media/ communications person again (which is what I did before teaching), I have to care again about social media.

It’s been a journey. The boundaries have been hard. I’m posting a lot and checking social media a lot, and while some amazing things have come out of it – such as the entire Los Feliz Writers Festival and the cool writers I have met through it, as well as my role as a co-director at the CSUN Writing Project and working at PorchFest, and also getting my poetry and writing out in the world again, and even some press passes to a play and a poetry reading (see look at these cool benefits to engaging on social media SLASH literally how I am able to make money and feed myself!! Is this a career?!) there are downsides.

One of my motivations for becoming a high school ELA teacher was because I wanted to teach teenagers how to use social media effectively so that they too could have these amazing opportunities that I have been able to create and access by using social media while mitigating the downsides of it. I wanted to teach them how to set boundaries with social media and how to communicate effectively on their channel and how to develop their platform to share their voice.

I had all these ideas on what to do, but then as a teacher never had enough time to do them! Also a lot of adults in education barely use social media and the risks are so high if it goes wrong!! So I hardly touched this area.

Now that I am taking some space from the classroom and having to find another way to make money, thus returning to my work before teaching, as well as realizing that I burnt out from teaching because I was socially isolated and not connecting with like-minded people enough, as well as not able to maintain deep, meaningful relationships with people because I was trying to maintain over 100 relationships with my students, on top of the faculty and staff at my school – and at the same time trying to build a life for myself because I moved back to Los Angeles in 2019 and then COVID happened, and I changed jobs and houses so many times – and so I just needed some time to nurture my personal life without being completely overwhelmed and stressed trying to work on my professional life.

While some people prefer to keep them separate, I know I am not one of those people. Although sometimes I wish I was. For me, my personal and professional life are interconnected.

This has made social media a weird space for me! As a poet and writer and researcher, I want to share my art and creativity with my people! At the same time, my job is to publicize poetry, writing, and research of other people!

And since I stopped teaching – I have been working freelance. And it turns out that working freelance SUCKS TOO!! Like I’m burning out from that as well. LOL!!

Feeling like fucking goldilocks up in here!! Teaching was too hot, freelance was too cold… will I ever find JUST RIGHT, or will I always be unsatisfied?!?!

Anyhow, I’ve been really reflecting while managing different social media platforms for different organizations, as well as my own personal Instagram, as well as contemplating setting up a communication agency that supports others in managing their social media presence – since people keep asking me to do this for them and some are offering me money to do it for them, and many people do this for other people as their job, and I did do this as a full-time job before at SAGE Publications and Midas PR and Red Hen Press, so like… what if I do it but like for me on my own terms?

What does that look like? And how do I do this for other people and businesses without burning out! as well as without harming other people with what I post or how I post because I do think when social media is not used considerately, it can hurt other people!!

I mean many people have died by suicide because of social media, as well as the eating disorders, mental health issues, and financial problems from this constant ability to compare your life to others and for organizations without your best interest at heart to SELL THEIR PRODUCTS to you!!!

To make my own version of “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg (one of my spiritual grandfathers!!),

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by capitalism, 
working at TikTok, Meta, Amazon,
working as an Influencer
selling their soul
and the soul of their friends
to whoever will pay them the most
who only really want to be loved
who want a home, a family, and friends
who want a meaningful life
yet meaningful seems unaffordable
selling Mother Nature like a pimp 
until she is almost dead and even then,
pleading innocent. 
I had to, I had to 
because I needed to feed my family
while your daughter has an eating disorder
and makes herself vomits the food you buy her
alone in the bathroom
because the beauty industry needs to sell
make up, fashion, and fitness memberships
so they bombard her with messages
that she is not attractive enough
not skinny enough
not happy enough
not enough.
Oh when will it be enough?!
I have had enough!!! 
These are my boundaries!!"

Okay that was just a freewrite but I think there is a poem in there.

Anywho, the point of this blogpost was to share my social media boundaries and the moves I am making to improve the way we communicate using social media by using myself as the test subject!

Would love your thoughts and feedback!