It’s hard to imagine the world without internet these days.
I mean, did you know that there are almost 4.5 billion people online, over 1.7 billion websites, around 6 million new blog posts published daily, and millions of Google searches happening every second?
Those kinds of stats blow my mind…
They also go to show just how fundamental the internet is to our lives. For me and billions of other people out there, the internet is now central to how we do things.
Our reliance on the web isn’t without its issues.
All-round, though, the positive impact it’s had is hard to overstate. Want to learn about 10 advantages of the internet that I think make life that bit better?
Keep reading!
LIKE READING ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES AND/OR DISADVANTAGES OF DIFFERENT TOPICS? YOU MIGHT ENJOY THIS POST TOO:
1. Connection
The internet connects (almost) the entire world.
Just think about that.
Never before have people been so connected. We’re one post, one DM, or one email away from someone on the other side of the planet.
It’s crazy!
Our awareness of world events is heightened. Our understanding of foreign cultures (and our own, as a result) is advanced. Our frame of reference and horizons extend outside of our little bubbles.
And so on.
Overall, the internet makes friends of people who would otherwise be aliens.
2. Communication
Communication is massive as well.
You can be separated by continents but talk with loved ones as if they’re in the same room; you can see their faces at the same time.
In a working context that’s a massive deal as well.
Combine connectivity with communications and you can work from anywhere. More people than ever before (myself included) now work remotely.
There’s just far less need to be fixed to one location. Connect to WiFi and you can chat just as easily as if you were together in an office.
You’re never alone with the internet.
Even people who lack close friends and family in ‘real-life’ can find chat rooms and online communities to meet others and form connections.
3. Convenience
Life without the internet would be a thousand times harder.
Think about all the things you use it for each day:
Shopping, navigating, finding places to eat/drink, working, contacting people, checking the news, booking transport…the list goes on and on, right?
Take that all away and what do you do?
I sometimes think about that- what would I actually do without the internet? Frankly, I’d be screwed. I mean, the internet is how I earn a living! No net, no nothing.
I see the internet as ‘the great enabler’.
It makes things possible. And the things it makes possible, it makes easy. Take away the web and everything gets that bit more inconvenient.
4. Access to Information
This is the biggie, in my opinion.
Information is everything.
And the internet is full of it. Anything you want to find, discover, and learn about…you go straight to Google, right?
That’s it. No more encyclopaedias, no more never-ending arguments, no more uncertainty.
You just ask Google and get your answers.
That’s powerful, and another reason I reckon we’d all struggle if you took the internet away all of a sudden. Where would we go for information?
It’s almost got to a point where I wouldn’t know where to look, or who else to ask.
It would be like the collapse of the Roman Empire and the swift descent into the Dark Ages- the foundation of your prosperity swept from under your feet.
If the internet really is the ‘great enabler’, like as said, then it’s also the ‘great leveller’.
It gives information (aka power) to the people, just like the printing press did back in the day.
Insight, facts and understand are no longer reserved for the few; it’s now available to the masses. If you have a smartphone and an internet connection you can realize and achieve almost anything in life.
5. Education
Information goes hand in hand with education.
To any school or college/uni students reading this, can you imagine what your education would look like with the internet?
How much harder would your homework/assignments be? How much more challenging would it be to study for exams, prepare those presentations, and write those essays?
Give a student a computer and they have a much better shot at success.
Here’s a video to prove it:
Education isn’t just easier from an academic standpoint though.
You can literally go to YouTube can learn anything you want! There are millions of videos on the internet about everything and anything under the sun.
With the internet at your disposal, you can upskill yourself, achieve mastery in subjects you have no formal education in, and become proficient at essentially any task imaginable.
It isn’t all good though. Read about all the disadvantages of the internet in this post.
6. Entertainment
Let’s not forget the fun stuff too.
The internet’s entertainment central.
Take it away and where would you go to watch the latest films, series and viral videos? What about news stations, online gaming, blog articles, podcasts, online presentations, or infographics?
They’d all disappear!
You actually have to go outside and spend time with your friends. Eurgh.
7. You Can Better Yourself
The internet is like a golden ticket.
It offers a leg up in life. You can leverage the web to do amazing things that you’d have no way of attaining with it.
Without the net, it’d be far harder to escape a rough start. Imagine not receiving a formal education. In the past, that was a recipe for trouble. Lacking options, you’d probably end up doing menial manual work just to get by.
You’d find it harder to compete for more advanced jobs; preference would be given to educated people.
The internet is empowering though.
With it, that person can education and train themselves on a given topic. It wouldn’t be easy, but there’s at least a chance to achieve more from life.
8. You Can Find a Voice and Do Good
The internet offers a platform as well.
There are soon to be 8 billion people on this planet.
How on earth can you feel special, unique, worthy and heard in amongst that enormous crowd? With the web, of course!
Suddenly, everybody can ‘be someone’.
You can start a blog, or a vlog, or become famous on social media (perhaps with help from these Instragram captions for girls). You can post one clip and become famous overnight.
Obviously, fame doesn’t have to be the goal. Just having somewhere to express yourself is enough; an outlet for expression is a mighty positive.
You can do some good as well.
Think about crowdfunding for charities, campaigns to raise awareness, or even a simple social media post where you share something that touches a loved one. There’s a lot of room for good thanks to the internet.
9. Improved Job Prospects
The internet equates to opportunity.
It’s just dynamite for job creation. Think about the ways people are earning money these days thanks to the internet.
I mean, you can turn followers on Instagram into a thriving business. You can start a blog and generate revenue from ads. You can important products from China and sell them on Amazon without even having to touch them!
Now think about your parents and grandparents.
They couldn’t have even dreamed about any of that. Their trajectory in life was far more rigid. Theirs was a linear path from school to job to career to retirement. They had very little choice.
With the internet, though, the extent of opportunity for earning an income is incredible.
It’s also become a key player in the hunt for more ‘typical’ jobs too though.
Search for a job these days and 9 times out of 10 you go online, right? That’s where the jobs are advertised. You can create a profile on the job boards, save your CV and apply for a new job in seconds. Every part of the process is simplified.
Throw in things sites like LinkedIn and your chance of finding a new job is amplified even further.
10. Technological Advancements
Technology is crazy.
And it’s all tied in with the internet.
Robots, artificial intelligence, virtual reality…they’re all like things from science-fiction movies. Yet they’re real and happening right now.
Every industry is increasingly reliant on the wonders of such technology.
We all benefit from the advancements that get made. Our health services improve, our security improves, our general infrastructure improves…The internet is a central component in it all.
On a similar note, this post will tell you all about the pros and cons of robotics.
Enjoy These 10 Advantages of the Internet
The internet has become a pivotal part of our daily life.
And, overall, we’re much better for it! Hopefully, the 10 advantages of the internet I’ve talked about in this post explain why that’s the case.
Now I’d love to hear from you.
Drop a comment below to let me know how your life is made better by the internet!
Thank you for your outstanding article.
Advantages exact, terribly perfect, stunningly impressive.🤓
Good work and you are definitely right.
Bro you are right, life without internet is savage!
Agreed, Vedant! It’s crazy how reliant we’ve become on it!