Cindy OutThinks Media
Cindy Marie Jenkins is an internationally published writer and educator who shares research-based digital literacy for families through the arts and intentional communications.
May 13 • 5 min read
A Life Lived Online, My Wild Summer of Work, & Shakespeare in the Garden
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Hello! It feels like a million lifetimes since I last emailed. But this isn't your normal Welcome Back. It's one step of many to untangle a life lived online. Back in 2010, I began helping people understand this new thing called social media, and how to use it without sounding like a walking advertisement. I worked with artists, educators, city officials, and nonprofits across Los Angeles to find their unique voice, then use it. My overarching goal was for artists to "Mind the Gap": learn how to actively nurture an audience so people are ready and eager to experience it. Distraction TractionThroughout the 2010s, however, I obsessed over the outreach and anticipation of art more than creating itself. I had fallen out of love with creating live theatre for a time--while all my career potential and social circles continued revolving inside its ecosystem. Yet by leaving the safety of black boxes and proscenium stages, I rediscovered my love of the written word: speaking it out loud, pressing publish and hoping people relate. I relish when readers reach out to say how I had articulated a feeling they couldn't untangle themselves. The thing about writing, you may have heard, is that you must bleed. You can't hold back when the right words land, or erase the paragraph that deftly makes your point; otherwise there is no point. By learning to articulate my feelings universally, and engaging my theater director's need to find motivations, context, and threaded stories, I started questioning my own (more public) actions: Why did I post on social media?
What is my purpose in sharing this information?
Is this the right audience?
When am I being a personal and when am I being a professional figure? When does that matter?
Did I strike the right tone? Am I considering their point-of-view?
Is this helpful to people in any way, or am I posting to make myself feel good about my [work] [parenting] [life choices]?
At the same time I was teaching my kids how advertising and influencers manipulate people. the more I zoomed out to explain marketing to them, the less I wanted to work in it.
And it all felt very shallow.I felt like a hypocrite. I had encouraged people to live parts of their lives online, and now I'm desperately trying to claw my own back. It helps that I spent two years in China, understanding exactly how it feels to know that everything said or done is surveilled. I wasn't paranoid then, because it wasn't my country. I made the choice. I signed the relocation documents and understood which maps or history books I could not bring. I knew the rules and accepted them for the net positive experience of living overseas. At least they were honest about it. I understand that now, privacy is a concept our children will hardly know. We are targeted as both consumers and products before we're born. I take full responsibility for my assumptions of safety in the past. But sometimes, when de-tangling from an online presence, you grapple with more threads than expected. How to make it through this frustratingly historic time?If I've learned anything these last few years, it's that we must have community, and we must understand the context of the history through which we're living. I've really enjoyed the places where I have found communal caring spaces, whether at a job, or a school event, or a call from/to a friend (if you're one of those friends answering the random call or text, I appreciate you :). As I continue to work in/write about Arts Media News, and how Media History affects our daily lives, I strengthened my purpose in writing. I still want to help people find their voice; now I move towards that goal by writing what others cannot express. When it comes to media, for instance, and digital media cultures like YouTube and TikTok, I give families the context needed to interpret the the news, influencers, and safe and safety controls. I always write to share what you can do, even small, to help yourself, your loved ones, and your community. Here is where I will put that love of writing, sharing, and helping to use this summer. Rescue Romeo! a Taming of the Screens family adventureMay 16-17 at Orlando Kids Fringe FestivalI am very psyched to share this evolution of last year's Taming of the Screens adventure: RESCUE ROMEO! Rescue Romeo is an interactive game at Kids Fringe/the Orlando International Fringe Festival. Families will sniff out the clues as kids figure out how to rescue --or capture-- Romeo! Saturday May 16 & Sunday May 17 Free activity table from 10am - 2pm ET Show starts at 12:20pm by the Tree Stage
Works in Progress*I'm still an Educational Counselor for international students with Elite Scholars of China (ESC). This year my students are focused on liberal arts colleges and experiences. *My personal essay curriculum around the Hero/Heroine's Journey will launch this summer, where I'll have summer writing classes for elementary -high school students, *I'm back with my great friend Patty Jean Robinson, working through my research for the hidden history of YouTube and how it affects your daily life. Here's an introduction to the topics of family vloggers on Patreon. All Patreon tiers (free+ up) will receive chapters in progress as well as our lighter accompanying interview series. The Patreon is also where I write in-depth more about YouTube-media related and kids. I'd love you to join us there! (If you have an experience where YouTube affected your life personally or professionally, please let me know. We'd love to interview you. Now's my favorite part -- hearing more about your lives and work! Please let me know what you're up to or struggling with. Life moves on and we move through it together. In gratitude, Cindy Marie Jenkins If you only want occasional updates, all good. Do nothing.If you want nothing from me, I appreciate the time you spent reading my works and updates. Unsubscribe |
Cindy Marie Jenkins is an internationally published writer and educator who shares research-based digital literacy for families through the arts and intentional communications.