The World Wide Web, commonly referred to as The Internet, has become integrated in every aspect of society. People can find jobs, go shopping, access their bank account, and instantaneously communicate with friends on the other side of the world. For children born after the turn of the century, life without internet would be unthinkable. This constant reliance on the internet has become a major drawback of the technology. If the internet were to collapse and cease to exist, even for a short period of time, society would be massively impacted. Nobody would know how to get places, people couldn't board planes, banks wouldn't be able to access your money, and the education system would crumble. The World Wide Web, is the most recognizable form of the Internet but is actually just the most common means of accessing data online in the form of websites and hyperlinks.
The History
Long before the Internet was ever created, scientists had already dreamed up systems similar to how the Internet looks today. Nikola Tesla thought up a "world wireless system" in the early 1900's . The idea was built upon by Paul Otlet in the 30's to be mechanized, searchable storage systems of books and music. However, the first official steps towards the Internet didn't happen until the early 60's with J.C.R. Licklider. He came up with the idea of an "intergalactic network" of computers which led computer scientists to one of the major building blocks of the Internet. Packet switching was a method for effectively transmitting electronic data, and would be crucial for the future of the Internet.
The first working prototype of the Internet came in the late 60's. The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) funded by the U.S. Department of Defense used packet switching to allow multiple computers to communicate on a single network. On October 29, 1969 the first "node-to-node" message was sent between two computers on this network. The short message consisting of one word, "LOGIN", crashed the system and the second computer only received the first two letters. However, this was still a major breakthrough for the invention of the Internet. The technology grew throughout the 70's. Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol, TCP/IP, a communications model that set standards for how data could be transmitted between multiple networks. On January 1, 1983 ARPANET adopted TCP/IP ang began to assemble a "network of networks"
In 1991, a simpler and more accessible version of the Web was released among computer scientist. In August, the Web was released to the public and spread like wildfire. Four months later, the first public web sever in the U.S was released by Paul Kunz and Louise Addis. At this point, Berners-Lee began asking through the Internet for help in developing a more user-friendly model of the Web. Early in 1993, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) released the first version of its Mosaic browser, and later became easily accessible on Mac and PC.
On 30 April, 1993, CERN made the source code of WorldWideWeb available on a royalty-free basis, making it free software. Allowing everyone across the world to help grow and develop the Web as we know it now. In May 1994, the first International World Wide Web conference was held at CERN. By the end of 1994, the Web had 10 million users. CERN then submitted a proposal to the Commission of the European Union under the ESPRIT programme: “WebCore”, with the goal of ensuring that the web would remain an open standard for all and could not be locked up into a proprietary system.
The Drawbacks and Advantages
Although the Web made information easier to access, there are many drawbacks to the system. The web has become an integral part of everyone's life and because of this the world would fall apart if the Web went down. Many people get frustrated if the internet is down for even a few hours, let alone if it were down for longer. However, these drawbacks and massively outweighed by the advantages of it. Access to information, larger commercial markets, and increased communication across the world are much more important than the fact that people are completely dependent on the Web. The biggest thing to remember, is to keep your own reliance on the Internet in perspective. Use it when needed, but don't forget to unplug yourself from it for short periods of time when possible.
https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-internet#:~:text=The%20first%20workable%20prototype%20of,communicate%20on%20a%20single%20network.
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