What is the internet?

We talk about the internet constantly. We get on the internet, lose the internet, and ask whether somewhere has internet. It is one of the most important technologies in modern life. Yet if asked to explain what the internet actually is, many people would struggle. It is not a single object you can point to, and that is exactly what makes it interesting.

The simplest way to understand the internet is this: it is a network of networks. A network is just a group of computers and devices linked together so they can share information. A home, a school, or a company each might have its own small network. The internet is what happens when an enormous number of these separate networks are all connected to one another. It links networks across the entire planet into one giant, interconnected system.

For all these different networks and devices to understand each other, they need to follow the same rules. These shared rules are called protocols. Think of them as a common language that every device on the internet agrees to use. Because every connected network follows the same protocols, a computer in one country can successfully send information to a device on the other side of the world. The protocols make the global conversation possible.

One common mix-up is worth clearing up. The internet and the World Wide Web are not the same thing. The internet is the underlying network, the connections and the infrastructure. The World Wide Web is just one of the things that runs on top of the internet, the system of linked web pages you browse. Email, video calls, and many apps also use the internet but are not part of the Web. The internet is the foundation; the Web is one of many services built upon it.

This article was written using information from Wikipedia.