At a time when algorithms increasingly divide our attention and digital interfaces keep more of our interactions at a distance, "being together" is gradually changing from something that once came naturally into something precious that must be actively created and supported by both media technology and social spaces.

　　The World Cup provides the story. Beer acts as an emotional and social catalyst. Live television provides the essential window through which everyone experiences the same moment together.

　　That night, in a small bar in Brussels, I watched a group of people leave their homes, sit beside one another, and share the joy and disappointment of the same match.

　　It did not solve any of the world"s difficult problems. But for one moment, it allowed a group of strangers to genuinely feel that they were not isolated from one another.

　　When media can help rebuild our ability to be together, the warmth and vitality of everyday public life can return to streets and neighborhoods. And when that sense of shared life becomes part of the everyday character of a city or a society, what it brings is more than emotional comfort.

　　It can also give lasting energy to economic development and to the richness of people"s inner lives - an energy rooted in emotion, trust and human connection.

　　The author is Deputy Head and Associate Professor at the Department of Audiovisual Communication, Television School, Communication University of China