{"id":194850,"date":"2023-09-05T17:07:31","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T17:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/?page_id=194850"},"modified":"2025-02-18T11:05:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T11:05:03","slug":"why-the-internet-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/why-the-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Internet?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Why the Internet?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
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When we connect to the Internet, anything is possible.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Internet puts us closer to what we care about the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like opportunities to study or start a business, so we can improve our lives and uplift our communities. Or the ability to communicate, so we can smile at our far-off loved ones\u2014or share knowledge to advance our understanding of the world. It even helps us find that perfect binge-worthy show or scroll endless videos, so we never say \u201cI\u2019m bored\u201d again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Internet transforms our lives and our society for the better. It doesn\u2019t belong to a single person, government, or corporation\u2014it belongs to all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Billions of people are cut off from the Internet\u2019s opportunities.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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1<\/span> in <\/span>3<\/span>
people live on the wrong side of the digital divide.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

20<\/mark>
countries blocked access to social media or communications platforms in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

124<\/span>
Internet shutdowns occurred in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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global economic loss (USD) due to Internet shutdowns and disruptions in 2024.<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sources:
Facts and Figures 2022 – Internet use (ITU<\/a>), Blocked Access, Shutdowns, and NetLoss Calculator (Internet Society Pulse<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Billions of people are cut off from the Internet\u2019s opportunities.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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1<\/span> in <\/span>3<\/span>
people live on the wrong side of the digital divide.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

20<\/mark>
countries blocked access to social media or communications platforms in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

124<\/span>
Internet shutdowns occurred in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span><\/div>
Global economic loss (USD) due to Internet shutdowns and disruptions in 2024.<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sources: Facts and Figures 2022 – Internet use (ITU<\/a>),
Blocked Access, Shutdowns, and NetLoss Calculator (Internet Society Pulse<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

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How the Internet Helps Us<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Find out how the Internet is changing lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seizing Opportunity at the Top of the World<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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When Chhepal Sherpa saw that young people were leaving Mount Everest communities for better opportunities, he knew the Internet could save the towns he and his ancestors have always called home.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Grabbing a Lifeline during the Pandemic<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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One of the largest cities in the world, NYC was in crisis during COVID-19. Jillian Murphy wondered how they could survive the early days of the pandemic without Internet.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Protecting a Way of Living and Fostering Hope<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Jorge Elias Oliveira Farias is a farmer in rural Brazil with an unusual side hustle: content creator. A new high-speed Internet connection empowers him to learn the latest agricultural techniques.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Creating Opportunity in an Independent and Sovereign Nation<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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The Independent and Sovereign Nation State of Hawai\u2018i needed Internet, but they weren\u2019t getting resources from their state or country. Brandon Makawa\u2018awa\u2018a and the people of Waimanalo built a community network that helps their people shine in education and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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You can deliver on the promise of the Internet.<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Make a difference in the lives of people like Jorge, Chhepal, and Jillian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donate Now<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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You can deliver on the promise of the Internet.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Make a difference in the lives of people like Jorge, Chhepal, Brandon, and Jillian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donate Now<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Image copyright:
\u00a9 Nyani Quarmyne, \u00a9Ian Willms \/ Boreal \/ Panos, \u00a9 Jo\u00e3o Aguiar, \u00a9 Chris Gregory, \u00a9 IBEBrasil, \u00a9 Nyani Quarmyne, \u00a9 Nyani Quarmyne <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Internet keeps us healthy, informed, and connected, empowers us to educate ourselves and each other, widens access to economic opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":197982,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-wide.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"region_news_regions":[],"content_category":[],"ppma_author":[4057],"class_list":["post-194850","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling.jpg",1440,660,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling-450x206.jpg",450,206,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling-768x352.jpg",768,352,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling-1024x469.jpg",1024,469,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling.jpg",1440,660,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling.jpg",1440,660,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling-250x115.jpg",250,115,true],"square":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling-600x600.jpg",600,600,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling.jpg",300,138,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling.jpg",400,183,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/kyrgyz-girl-smiling.jpg",600,275,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ivana Trbovic","author_link":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/author\/trbovic\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Internet keeps us healthy, informed, and connected, empowers us to educate ourselves and each other, widens access to economic opportunities.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194850"},{"taxonomy":"region_news_regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region_news_regions?post=194850"},{"taxonomy":"content_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_category?post=194850"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=194850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}