Digitalisation - The importance of the internet
Paula Stöckelle, 29. November 2020
The internet has become necessary for pretty
much everyone in the last 50 years. Living without
it would be very difficult, nearly impossible.
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Let’s talk a bit about the history first. It all began with the
invention of the Arpanet in 1968 which one could see as a
very slow prototype of our internet today. Fun Fact: the first
message ever sent was “LO” because they wanted to write
the word “LOG”, but the Network broke down after the first
two letters. This was followed by connecting PC’s with the
internet, the AOL (America Online) and in 2006 the first
“Video-Platform” YouTube. From then on it expanded rapidly
to the internet we all know today. Now let’s move on with
some of the most important features of it nowadays.
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First of all, it is great for education. Have you ever thought about having to look up things in books and even go to the library to do that? Bevor the internet was invented this was absolutely necessary because how else would you get a reasonable answer to your question? Nowadays you just grab your mobile phone or a computer and look up anything you want to know in a record time.
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In addition to that communicating has become way easier. You just write a text message and seconds later the person you were texting gets your message and can answer right away. But also communicating between strangers and finding new friends is very simple. It works for example via Instagram, Facebook and many more. Furthermore, shy people can communicate easier by just texting versus having to talk to someone in person.
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Marketing also works very well on the internet, especially for pop up stores or small companies that don’t have much money but still want to reach new customers. On the platform “Instagram” for instance there is a possibility of making a sponsored post which everyone can see and isn’t to expensive.
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Finally, especially right now in times of COVID-19 the internet has reached another dimension. For example, taking classes at home and studying via video calls. Without this school and education in general would be pretty much impossible. It also helps if you are alone and locked up in your apartment to have some connection to the world outside and the possibility to still have social interactions.
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As you can see, the internet is a very important part of all our lives, and these are only a few out of thousands of aspects why.
