What is the Internet?

The Internet is a technology that is considered to be a global system of interconnected computer

networks. The Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) enables communication among devices and networks.
One can connect with anyone worldwide and access any information through the internet.

Whenever a user visits a website, the computer sends a request over physical cables such as fiber optic
cables to a server. When the request arrives, the server retrieves the website and sends back accurate
data to the computer that requests it. The term World Wide Web and Internet are often used
interchangeably.

However, the World Wide Web (www) is an information system useful for accessing the Internet. With
the internet, users can communicate instantly with anyone in the world. This includes video
conferencing, internet calls, emails, chat rooms and social media. Agencies such as Internet Assigned
Numbers Authority (IANA) establish universal protocols.

Features of Internet

The following are the features of the Internet:

Provides access to information: The Internet is the biggest encyclopedia of information. It consists of a
huge repository of information through websites, digital libraries, scientific papers and articles.

Information exchange: It serves as a platform where information can be exchanged among people from
any corner of the world.

Helps in Networking: The Internet provides platforms where people can connect and network with other
people. This helps in building networks and socialising.

Applications of Internet

The Internet has many applications, due to which it has become an unlimited resource of information.
Following are the areas of usage:

World Wide Web: A global collection of documents, applications, and other resources interlinked
through hyperlinks and referenced with URLs. The main access protocol of WWW is HTTP. Through
HTTP, communication between software systems for information transfer, sharing, and exchanging
business data is possible. Currently, Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 are the three versions of WWW.

Connectivity: There are several ways of communicating through the internet with anyone worldwide. To
connect with anyone worldwide, users can connect through email, social media, and video conferencing
applications.

Data transfer: One of the most important applications of the internet is data transfer. You can share
unlimited data with anyone worldwide through the internet. File sharing is a way to share data across
the internet.

Transfer of Information on the Internet

On the internet, data travels across in the form of packets. The information contained within the
wrapper informs the computer about the type of data within the packet. It also tells how it fits together
with data the origin and destination of the data. Whenever you send a message, it breaks down into
packets that travel across a network. As packets arrive, the computer receives the data and assembles
these packets to recreate the message.

If a packet does not reach the destination, the machine that receives the data can identify the missing
packet by referencing other packets. It then sends a message to the machine that has sent the data to
resent the missing packet. Different packets from the same message do not follow the same path, due
to which the Internet speed is very fast.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet

The internet has advantages and disadvantages since it has unlimited information resources. Some of
these resources have crucial information sensitive to the individual, public, and national interest. This
abundance of information is both advantageous and disadvantageous. Let us first discuss the internet
advantages and disadvantages:

Benefits of Internet

Following are the advantages of internet:

Instant access to information: One of the biggest advantages of the internet is instant access to
information. It takes seconds to search for anything on the internet. You can type in the query using
keywords, and the search engine will find you millions of searches as per the exact query and related
keywords. You can further access information based on the time period, relevance and user rating. This
makes you find more relevant and up-to-date information on the Internet.

Resources to learn: You can learn about anything anytime through the internet. There are many
resources to help you gain knowledge. This includes research papers, online courses, videos, tutorials,
FAQs, case studies, etc. There are many forums such as Reddit, Quora and many open-source
communities that help you in learning.

Upgrading lifestyles: The Internet of Things is one of the best innovations through which human lives
have become easier and more efficient. The effort in manual labour has been minimized due to the
availability of technological innovations. These days, people do not have to put effort into switching on
and off lights.

Effortless communication: One of the biggest advantages of the internet is communication. Through this
network of networks, you can communicate with anyone remotely. Wireless systems or physical
presence are unnecessary to communicate with people. Within seconds, you can connect with someone
sitting thousands of miles away. This ensures that you do not lose touch due to increased distance.

Socializing: One of the most recent advantages of the internet has been identified as social networking
sites. Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok have helped build communities. People
having the same types of interests can connect with each other over these platforms. This is a new form
of socializing through which people can share and express their opinions.

Disadvantages of Internet

The Internet has proven to be an extraordinary invention that has changed our lives completely over
decades. However, this technology does have the following drawbacks:

Cyber breach: One of the biggest disadvantages of the internet is the risk of cyber breaches. Websites,
applications, emails and software, everything on the internet is prone to breaches. Cyber attackers can
find a loophole in the system and breach it to extract the information. Due to this reason, information
over the internet is vulnerable to theft.

Lack of socialization: While the internet is helping in building communities through social networking
sites, it limits real-life socialization. Due to this, people are unable to forge human bonds as strongly as
decades before.

Identity theft: Cyber criminals steal personal information and credentials to commit fraud. For identity
theft, criminals access your information in an unauthorized and illegal manner. Once they steal your PII,
they misuse it to commit crimes to obtain goods and services. In the worst-case scenario, they may even
try to ruin your reputation.

Addiction: This is one of the biggest disadvantages of the internet. Over the course of time, people have
become addicted to using the internet. This is evident in teenagers who spend more time playing games
or using social media on the internet. They value online lives more than the real life. This makes virtual
reality more addictive. Due to this, many become aggressive or even clinically depressed when they do
not have internet availability.

Shortened attention span: Due to the availability of excessive means of entertainment over the internet,
the attention span of the average human brain has become less. People nowadays have an attention
span of less than a minute, requiring changes within minutes.

Conclusion

The Internet is the most unlimited source of information for everyone who can access it. Be it
communicating with people sitting at another corner of the world or addressing thousands of people
together, the internet has made it possible for all of us within seconds. However, many entities have ill
intentions, due to which the misuse of the internet is as prevalent as its advantages.