There are many problems with social media (it's superfluous for me to list examples). But as I've noted previously, the apps are great for congratulating people on their birthdays and offering condolences when they lose friends or family members. Beyond that, they also mean I have connections with people from every period of my life. And when I'm visiting somewhere, I can see folks I haven't seen in years or even decades, as I'll be doing in the coming week in Philadelphia (18-19 June), Washington DC (19-23 June), and New York City (23-24 June). In DC, I'll be performing with my 1980s band; in NYC, I'll be giving a poetry reading. (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 17 June 2025)