Rewriting History Via the Internet

The world has forever been changed by the undeniable affects of the Internet. The Internet is a powerful medium that has completely transformed the way people live, work, learn, and socialize. Growing up during a decade in which the Internet became increasingly popular and widespread, it is difficult for me to imagine my life without it.

The Cold War was a time when the growth of technology was key for the safety and power of the United States rivaling the former Soviet Union. The U.S. government created an agency known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. With the help of J.C.R. Licklider, a student from MIT, and others such as Paul Baron who worked for the Research and Development Organization; a packet switching program was created. The goal was to develop a country-wide communication system. The ARPANET would become the first successful system. More and more computers started to connect to the ARPANET and by the late 1970s over one hundred were connected. The ARPANET would later be replaced in 1990 and the new system would be opened up to private organizations across the globe. The 1990s was the decade when the popularity and advances in the Internet completely exploded. Society may have not been ready for the Internet; but there was no stopping this phenomenon that redefined the modern world.