To best answer digital questions, let's step back and review what we know about the internet.
When we ask "what is the internet?," you already have some answers. In this lesson you'll learn additional answers about what the internet is and how it works. You'll also get a chance to find solutions to common internet problems.
Your usage and knowledge of the internet is unique, so let's start with some basic definitions so we have a common understanding. The internet is decentralized computer network system for sharing digital information.
"Decentralized" means there is no one internet, so, unlike water or electricity flowing to your home, information coming from the internet has many sources and connections.
"Computer network" means that the internet connects computing devices (like laptops, mobile phones, and tablets) to each other like a spider web. Just as one strain of a spider web can break, without affecting the rest of the web, so too can one computer turn off or lose its connection without affecting the network of computer connections. Finally, the word "sharing" helps us understand that the internet is always changing as information moves back and forth. Like a river, the internet is always flowing. Much like a river, the internet does not remain the same, but evolves as information is created and shared.
This flowing nature of the internet is sometimes frustrating: we want information to be in the same place we saw it last. Still, we have tools that can help us find information on the internet, even if it moves.
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