If you know me or work with me, you know I’ve been focused on how I spend my time, and how I model that for my kids, for my patients, for my students, for my colleagues and for my fellow global citizens.

One thing I haven’t done – yet – is spend any real time on social media. I’m wary of the potential harms that social media may bring to me, my loved ones and society at large. But I have seen that others find benefits from using social media, including togetherness and an expanded sense of community.

I’m curious about how I might gain those benefits while avoiding the pitfalls. Ideally, I’d be able to use these social media tools in a way that’s productive and fulfilling both for me and the community, without getting sucked into spending lots of time constructing virtual performances for others, or losing my sense of reality in a misinformation miasma.

I want to invite you to think with me, to come along as I think aloud – well, on the screen – about many aspects of social media and answer some questions that arise. And of course, in the spirit of welcoming peer review, I’d also encourage you to share your own thoughts, ideas, strategies and crazy experiments we might consider!

You can read the full essay here.