“Our challenge is not access to information; it is the challenge of paying attention.”

In Chapter 1 of Rewire, Ethan Zuckerman discusses global epidemics such as SARS and political uprisings like the Arab Spring. Zuckerman outlines the role social media had while these events were unfolding to the general public. He argues that because so much more information is available to us, it becomes that much harder to sift through what is truly important.

While social media makes it easier to share information across the globe, a more narrow world picture is also created. @EthanZ #NHsmc

— Gabriella Rusk (@GabriellaRusk) February 1, 2016

A narrow picture of the world does not benefit those in third-world countries or anyone who’s plight could not be called to global media attention. There are, he argues, three types of media: news, social, and cultural. All of these shape our values and the knowledge we have of our global and local communities.

There in lies the problem: we may think we are more connected than we actually are. In a world with individuals glued to their cell phones while eating dinner at a restaurant or watching a movie at a friend’s house, we are losing the interpersonal connections that have existed even before Facebook and Twitter.

"take a close look at how connected we are,not just how connected we imagine ourselves to be" @EthanZ on being a global cosmopolitan #NHsmc

— Anisha Chellaswami (@achellas) February 1, 2016

Zuckerman concludes the chapter by explaining that connections exist in our world and we cannot escape them. However, because of all these connections, we must understand their differences and work to improve the ones that benefit all of humanity.

“To build the tools we need to thrive in this emerging world, we must understand how we’re connected and disconnected.”