What is the internet?

The internet is a massive, worldwide network of computers that are all connected to each other. It’s like a giant conversation that never ends! Every time you look at a website, play an online game, or send a message, you are using this huge network.

A Network of Networks

Imagine you and your friends all have walkie-talkies. You can talk to each other, right? That’s a small network. Now, imagine if your walkie-talkie could also talk to your cousin’s walkie-talkie in another city, and your cousin could talk to their friends too. Eventually, everyone in the whole world would be connected. That’s exactly what the internet is—a “network of networks.”

It’s like a giant web of invisible strings connecting every computer, tablet, and smartphone on the planet.

The Gatekeepers: Your ISP

To get onto the internet, you usually need a “ticket” from a company called an Internet Service Provider, or ISP.

Think of the internet like a huge, international highway system. To get your car onto the highway, you might need to go through a toll booth. Your ISP is like that toll booth. They provide the connection that lets your computer talk to all the other computers on the “internet highway.”

Common ISPs are companies that provide your home’s internet or your phone’s data plan.

How do we use the Internet?

We use the internet for all sorts of things every day:

• Learning: Like reading this lesson or looking up facts for a school project.
• Watching Videos: Streaming movies or educational videos on sites like YouTube.
• Talking to People: Sending messages, emails, or video calling your family.
• Shopping: Buying devices or clothes from online stores without leaving the house.

The Web vs. The Internet

A lot of people think the “Internet” and the “World Wide Web” (the Web) are the same thing, but they aren’t!

• The Internet is the hardware—the cables, wires, and computers that are all hooked up.
• The Web is the software—the websites and pages we see when we use a browser.

Think of it like a library: the building, the shelves, and the librarians are the internet, and the books on the shelves are the web. You can use the internet for other things besides the web, like sending an email or playing a game through an app!

Did you know?

• No one person owns the internet: It’s a huge team effort! Different companies and governments own different parts of it, but no one single person is the “boss” of the whole thing.
• Under the Sea: Most of the internet’s data doesn’t travel through space using satellites; it actually travels through giant cables laid at the bottom of the ocean!
• Billions of Users: More than half of all the people on Earth use the internet today. That’s billions and billions of people!
• The First Message: The very first message ever sent over the internet was supposed to be “LOGIN,” but the system crashed after only the first two letters, so the first message was just “LO”!

Check Your Knowledge

1. In your own words, what is the internet?
2. What is the difference between “The Internet” and “The Web”?
3. What does ISP stand for, and what does it do?
4. Name four things you use the internet for.
5. If you have a computer that isn’t connected to any other computer, is it part of the internet?
6. How does most of the internet’s information travel between different continents?