Digital Cosmopolitans
Why We Think the Internet Connects Us, Why It Doesn't, and How to Rewire It
13 January 2015
Description
A rousing call to action for those who would be citizens of the world—online and off.
In an age of connection supercharged by the Internet, we often assume that more people online means a smaller, more cosmopolitan world. In reality, it is easier to ship bottles of water from Fiji to Atlanta than it is to get news from Tokyo to New York. In Digital Cosmopolitans Ethan Zuckerman draws on contemporary research in psychology, sociology and his own work on how humans "flock together" to explain why the technological ability to reach someone does not inevitably lead to increased connection.
For those who seek a wider picture—a picture now critical for global success—Zuckerman highlights the challenges and the headway already made by attempts to bridge cultures through translation, cross-cultural inspiration and the search for new, serendipitous experience. Digital Cosmopolitans offers a map of the innovations needed to more tightly connect the world.
Reviews
"Zuckerman's book is worth reading." — The Times
"...Ethan Zuckerman's book provides a welcome antidote to the current narrative of technological determinism." — The Guardian