What is the internet?
This is such a wild question that I have found myself thinking about in the past. First off, it is a virtual place. This place can be accessed through some sort of connected device and the connection is completely invisible. The internet is also a resource that so many people use in so many different ways. I think one thing that is true about all of the different uses is that they are methods of communication. Whether a person is using a specific site to directly type words in communication with another real person or being communicated to indirectly by means of reading a post or article, they are all forms of communication.
The internet is not a tangible thing. I think that is one thing that makes it hard to conceptualize. I think that is also what can make it a bit frightening; the unknown is scary. Since we cannot see the networks and paths of links with our own eyes, it is hard to imagine just how extensive the internet really is. One visual that my thoughts keep going back to is the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet. Being a kids movie, it is made to be lighthearted and easy to follow. Even though this imagined, physical internet world created in the movie does not exist and only included the more popular and easily recognized aspects of the internet, it would be a good way to explain the internet to someone who has no experience at all.
One thing from this week’s reading that really caught my attention is the idea that the internet is a place we travel to, similar to how we visit a physical building. Again, in relation to Ralph Breaks the Internet, the main characters actually take a little shuttle to arrive at the internet and once they are there, they can get from place to place almost instantly in another tiny shuttle. This very similar to the scene described in chapter two of Small Pieces Loosely Joined where you can tap on a reference and Bob will go fetch it from the stacks for you. Everything is available for use with minimal effort.
Returning to the idea of different uses for the internet, I believe that there exists only one internet, but there are many different branches off of our singular internet. It is a constantly expanding space that is growing new branches and people are finding new ways to utilize it all the time. Either way, it remains as one entity.
