October 29 is the celebration of one of the most important inventions in human history: the Internet. Back when the internet was just growing, few could imagine what the internet would mean all these years later. Who could have imagined booking entire overseas vacations through a phone? Or just sending out messages that reach the other part of the world within a fraction of a second? But now can you even imagine a day without the internet?
History
International Internet Day is observed around the world to celebrate the sending of the first electronic message for the first time in 1969. At that point, the internet was called ARPANET which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network.
It was Charley Kline, a student programmer from the University of California, Los Angeles, who transmitted the first-ever electronic message. But the first International Internet Day was celebrated in 2005.
Why do we celebrate International Internet Day?
1. Recognizing connectivity gaps
While it is true that we can't imagine life without the internet and the internet is everywhere, that is not true. Even today, if you go to a village or on a mountain top you will find that there is no internet there. It is estimated that only 10 per cent of the world's surface has terrestrial connectivity. Which basically means you are barely scratching the surface. There is a need to spread the connection so that we can get more and more people connected.
2. Flexible connectivity solution
The Internet brings connectivity that is fast and can connect from this corner of the world to the other. We can talk to people from different countries and continents through messages, emails and calls. You now have various modes of communication. It is no longer limited to letters, though even today hand-written letters have their own charm.
3. Social networking
The most important aspect or boon of the internet is social networking. Humans are social animals and need contact with society. Thanks to the internet that has become an easier task. All you need to do today is send out a WhatsApp message or just a video call. Today everything is just possible at the tap of a phone.
4. Positive use of the internet
The Internet has multiple uses from education to entertainment. You can use the internet in multiple ways. Plan an entire trip or just binge watch on Netflix it is your choice. Though there are bad parts to it after all there are always two parts of the story. But that doesn't mean that the internet is only bad. While there are a hundred risks attached to the use of the internet there are also hundred positive impacts. These impacts were visible during the COVID-19 pandemic where the only mode of connectivity became the internet.
The Future
The future with the internet seems so far yet so close. Today we can just ask or command the net to turn on the light, make calls and have conversations. A simple Google search will show you hilarious videos of conversations between humans and Alexa or even Siri. To add to this we have the Metaverse where the world can literally meet and feel without having to be physically present. There are still more improvements to come. Though not part of the internet, but robots will also one day be part of it. While some fear this change there are others that want to see this change.
We have evolved with the internet and the things we never imagined yesterday are possible today, tomorrow will be no different. Everything you haven't imagined will be possible.
We celebrate the world wide web on October 29 so that we can remember we started with one message and have grown to millions and billions of messages per second. This is the day to appreciate what we have thanks to the internet and think of where we will go in the future.
