The Internet: A Game Changing Invention

The Internet:

Before the internet was invented, our methods of communication, business and education were drastically constrained because of a lack of ability to access and utilize real time information. Communicating with people who were not within the same city or neighborhood was prolonged by days, if not weeks, because people had to write and send letters via mail. This slowed the progression of our economical, social and cultural growth because everything was delayed by a lack of speedy technology. As a concept, the internet was around for a long period of time, spurred by increasing tensions during the cold war. However, the physical, recognizable creation of the internet took place during the years leading up to 1990. A prototype of the internet, called the ARPANET, was invented in the late 1960s. This invention allowed data to be transmitted between different networks at quick speeds. In 1990, computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee developed the World Wide Web, which ultimately spurred a more global usage of the internet. The internet infinitely expanded our world of knowledge, giving us a multitude of virtual realities that allow us to explore the world through a technological perspective. Its significance goes beyond the idea of any other technological invention because it connected the world through a medium of communication and information. News could be accessed at the click of a button, compared to before, where it took days to hear about something that may have happened overseas. Websites such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter gave us the ability to form interconnected networks and communities online, connecting us on a global level. These reasons are why I picked the internet as the specific and fundamental invention that drives today’s economy and social environment on more than just a basic level.