In today’s world, it’s nearly unheard of for someone not to be connected. No matter where we are, what we’re doing, or who we’re with, we always have access to the most vital information at a second’s notice. It’s interesting to think what we would do without iPhones, laptops, or the internet in general. This part of our culture tends to generate complaints – and we can totally see both sides of the story – but we often wonder: Does unlimited access to virtually everything help us lead smarter, better lives or is it turning us into a bunch of paranoid maniacs?

Take Ebola, for exaebola2mple. While Africa is clearly the hardest hit, Ebola wasn’t nearly as much of a concern as it is now that a person died on American soil. Just one. And it was all anybody talked about for weeks. Don’t get us wrong here, we understand the seriousness of the virus and how contagious it is. But only one person has died. Two more have been infected. Facebook ‘s Trending Topics typically has Ebola in the top three, reminding us about said Ebola death. We wonder whether that’s a good thing. Would people be as hyped up about Ebola if it wasn’t in our faces everywhere we went? If Ebola hadn’t made its way to America, would people even know what it was? Would you rather not know?

All interesting questions. If you chose the “ignorance is bliss” path, would your life be any different than it is now? There’s not much we’re doing differently over here. Still washing our hands with the same soap, we still carry hand sanitizer, and we aren’t holed up in our beds to avoid human contact. How would it be any different if we didn’t know about that one guy who died in Texas? Maybe peace of mind would be a more common thing.

We could blame the media. They tend to overhype everything. In the midst of some of the bigger mass shootings (Aurora, Newtown) , any possible instance of a gun being fired was suddenly a breaking news alert. Adding to the hysteria? We think so. Is it tebola3he same with Ebola? Reporting the stories with journalists avoiding the quarantine and someone yelling “I have Ebola!” on a crowded plane and an aircraft actually landing because of “flu-like symptoms” among a few passengers. Is that stuff need-to-know? We can’t say it is. It just adds fuel to the fire and incites fear and panic in everyone.

All we can say is don’t worry unless you absolutely have to! Have a delicious sandwich for lunch, write a funny tweet, and go pet your cat. Life’s too short to worry about Ebola!