What is the internet??
My personal history with the internet was basically nonexistent until I started attending college. My family had internet on again and off again growing up but I really had no use of it. When I reached high school we didn't have internet at all. If I needed it I went to the library, a friends house, or school. Then wifi was perfected. You could use your phone or other wireless devices to access the internet. I finally started college and bought a laptop of my own and insisted my parents bought an internet plan because I had to use it for school. Once we had the internet my life changed. I started using Facebook, email, Pinterest, YouTube, and Skype. I was very late to the internet game and I still feel like I am far behind others. I don't even own a smart phone yet... Many of my friends were far more experienced using the internet than I was when I started using it.
It was interesting to learn this week about the evolution of technology. The printing press, radios, televisions, type writers, telephones, computers, cell phones, wireless devices, cd players, iPods, and many many more. I believe the internet made the biggest impact on technology. The internet is a network of networks. It connects computers all over the world on one network. The internet allows people to connect with each other, shop, research, and get news. It has grown fast. Every day it is updated with new information and even new technology. The world now relies on the internet. What would we do without it? Many companies wouldn't be able to function without it. In fact a large amount of companies are solely based on the internet and wouldn't exist without it.
I did some research to try and find out how the internet worked. Wikipedia was slightly helpful and How Stuff Works. We even watched a 47 minute video by the History Channel about the evolution of the internet but it did not explain how it all works. I am still confused and maybe I always will be. I still don't understand how do codes create images on computers? How can you send writing, videos, pictures, and full webpages through the internet? I don't understand it but I am appreciative of it. I use the internet a lot and it is extremely helpful. My final decision about the internet though…
It's Magic!
With the exception of facebook, which I happened to stumble upon and start using fairly early in its existence, I've also been a late bloomer with social media tools. I didn't own my own computer until I had graduated from college and most people I knew had cell phones before I decided I needed one. I also waited a long time to get a smart phone. It is both interesting and a bit disturbing that life was fine before things like smartphones or facebook, but once you start using them you can't imaging life without them.
ReplyDeleteThe simple answer about computers and the Internet is that it is just a bunch of ones and zeroes. The particulars of how and why it actually works are probably a mystery to most people. I certainly see the hand of the Lord in it though. Also remember that the Internet and the Web are two different things. The Web runs on the Internet but the Internet is not the web.