The Internet

I personally believe the internet to be one of mankind's greatest inventions. At this point, it is almost unimaginable to perceive a world without it. It's creation triggered a revolution that is a hallmark in the chapters of human history. The digital age is now and we best get with the times before they leave you behind.

I remember my first encounter with the internet. when I was about 7, my father brought me to his side while he fiddled with our off-white, Compaq pentium 1 computer. He started the classic dial-up connection and as the famous fax machine-like sounds filled the living room, I thought I was in a science fiction movie (I watched a lot of Star Wars back then). As he tried to explain to me how the internet worked, all I could think about was when I could leave to go to the nearby park to cycle or play football. The internet did not interest me in the very least.

Quite a lot has changed since then. Today I log onto the web almost everyday, albeit not for very long periods of time. I still love the outdoors and football especially, and although sometimes I think to myself "Sure, I could live without the internet!", I think it's easier said than done. Everything seems to run online now, with the flourishing of e-commerce and social networking sites in particular. Many things that run on traditional media can also be accessed online now, making it much easier to attain information.

It is truly astounding how much the world has changed in the last 50 years and I believe the creation of the internet to be the chief agent for the change. The possibilities seem limitless as the virtual world continues to overlap with physical reality. This may pose problems as we go along but nevertheless these are exciting times indeed.

"Today, you always know whether you are on the internet or on your PC's hard drive. Tomorrow you will not care and may not even know." - Bill Gates