What is the Internet?

The internet is a tool for research, entertainment, and communication. The means for this instrument is becoming increasingly more and more accessible to the general public, and in turn this creates an outpour of information that can be used in a variety of different ways. The internet has many different forms, and at many depths. For example, there is the communication aspect, where social media’s exist (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). There is the education and research advantages, such as websites used for school and studying… while there is also more of an entertainment aspect with games and streaming services.

It is interesting to note that while these uses are generally what we associate the internet with, this is technically just the surface. These websites are all at the same depth of the internet, to which it is commonly referred to as the surface web. The internet continues to go deeper (in regards the topic of illegality of information and product) as you start to hit the deep web, and eventually the dark web. Taking these different webs into account, the case can be made that there are multiple different internets.

As mentioned before, the internet has become widely available to everyone. Many different public establishments offer free access to technology needed to browse the internet, and also free WiFi. The advancements in technology have even made WiFi not necessary, and instead data and personal hotspots can be used to use the internet at any time and virtually at anywhere. With this being said, we have the devices to use this internet with us at all times, such as our cellphones, smart watches or tablets.

I wouldn’t necessarily classify the internet under the category of being alive… but I do believe we live with technology and the information acquired from it therefore connects us to it. It is technically alive through each and every human who uses it. Information that we recieve from the internet is transmitted through us, and passed along to other friends, family, and strangers… it is a never ending cycle. There are many things in which the internet ISN’T, however, there is very little in which the internet has not influenced.

The internet itself is generically the same, however the information continues to grow. This is the reason for why the internet continues to be a emerging concern and terrifies me. There are people who can hack into different databases to steal information, items (like guns and children) which can be sold illegally through the black market, and even just threats and scams that can lead to increased wary in the internet today.

With this, the internet does bring a lot of positives as well. People are able to connect from all across the globe, information that is ready at the users fingertips, and education and work becomes easier and more enjoyable. There are undoubtedly many different advantages and disadvantages in regards to our internet today. Using the internet requires the customer to ignore all of the terrible aspects that come with the good.