We live in a world that is completely designed by us, for us. When one stops and looks around, it is obvious that we have created a world that is entirely pivoted towards making our lives more convenient and efficient. This is not an assumption or an opinion, this is a fact. At the forefront of a lot of (if not all) that transformation is none other than the internet.
The internet is only a few decades old now, but even in that relatively short time span, it has effectively changed nearly every (if not all) facet of life. We have become so incredibly reliant on the convenience and efficiency of the worldwide web, that we as a collective have become almost obsessed with it.
It makes perfect sense why this is; after all, without the internet, we would not be nearly as advanced as we are today, this quickly. In fact, some would argue that we would never have reached this level of advancement as a species without the internet. But what makes the internet so special, and how has it changed our lives (and the lives and reality of future generations)?
As the single greatest and most revolutionary technological concept the world has ever seen, the internet has created an unparalleled sense of global connectivity and instantaneous communication. First and foremost, this is its legacy, the core that helps it to continue advancing and evolving, in a world where many other technologies are losing their footing, having to be rewired and realigned to fall back into step with the way of the currently changing world. Before the internet, communicating overseas was expensive and time-consuming.
When the internet was first introduced, it did not take long for people to realize that it held immense and promising potential to create a new norm for communication around the world. And so, it did. The internet became the driving force for instantaneous global communication and ongoing connection, and from then on it spurred a world of further changes – changes that, today, are integral parts of modern life.
With instantaneous global communication and consistent connection came the realization that everything could change. International and national medical and scientific correspondences were faster and more concise. Education and business began to make moves to expand to the digital landscape. The ways that we learn, work, consume, create, communicate, and grow have all changed drastically. And at the core of all these changes lies the internet.
Consider the impact the internet has had on the way we consume, for example. Today, the online marketplace is globally inclusive and all-encompassing. This means that there is a place for every business, and a product for every buyer. From the best available local deals on cable to cars and even properties abroad (and everything in between, for that matter), there is a market online for quite literally everything. In this way, the internet has fundamentally changed the way we consume and collect from the ground up.
In the modern world, we have become so fundamentally used to constant access and connectivity. Thanks to the internet, we have it all at our fingertips, all the time. One important facet of life that the internet has changed is the way that we are so open about our information online – something that was never the same in the real world. Of course, even the strongest innovations have their challenges.
If there is one negative chink in the armor that is the internet, it is that it is susceptible to threats, risks, and other challenges (think internet privacy or online security, to name a few key examples). But even in saying this, it is always the case with any innovation, and these kinks are being worked out more and more with every passing day. It is a bright sense of hope for the future of the internet that the advancements in online privacy and security are growing stronger by the day.
Technological advancement is a notion that we are (somewhat) shockingly familiar with. It has taken many, many years, and an ongoing sense of entitlement on our part, but we have effectively created a world that mirrors all the possible dreams and hopes we ever wanted. Today, thanks to the internet, these dreams and hopes are embodied in the world around us. In this way, we have much to be grateful for.
Our lives have been made far more convenient and efficient since the dawn and constant advancement of the worldwide web. The internet has changed the world as we know it, in practically every way, shape, and form. Considered the most significant technological innovation since electricity, the internet has successfully created a new frontier in global connectivity and instantaneous communication. It is a front that, even now, continues to bloom and flourish, becoming more advanced all the time.
The internet has delighted and impressed us so far, but that is nothing compared to the trajectory it is taking as we propel onward further into the digital era; the best is yet to come.