The Evolution of the Internet
Access to the Internet
The internet initially began as a method of transferring data between US Government
Today as we know it, the internet supplies consumers with the opportunity to communicate easily with friends and family, discover news and research into many various things.
In 1999, there was an estimated 255 million people using the internet, compared to 1994 where the total was around 16 million. (Internet World Stats, n.d.)
Internet speeds have increased overtime as demand for the internet capabilities have increased.
Improvements such as fixed-line broadband connections and faster mobile services, such as 4G and now 5G have allowed customers all over the world to access the internet faster and from remote locations.
Digital Devices used by Audiences
Digital Devices used by Audiences
•As you can see in the graph in the previous slide, 60% of the UK population access the internet via smartphones. 16% of people access the internet via laptop.
•This goes to show that computers and desktops are on decline.
•According to the statistics, consumers are surfing the web via their own mobile phones, because it is quick and easy to navigate straight Apps such as Facebook and Google.
How Customers Search For Information?
Over the years, different Web Browsing Platforms have given the customer more choice to where best search for information.
Well known search engine Google, now has competition with Bing, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Yahoo.
Google is dominant and has a feature whereby if the customer allows Google to follow the searches the customer is putting into the computer, then Google will remember and post adverts on various websites the customer visits that are relevant to the customer. The newly features that Google provide customers is assisting the customer and making their search easier and smooth. Especially if the customer is looking for fashion clothing.
Online Video Consumption
•In 2020, the number of digital viewers in the United States was 232 million.
• Almost 5 billion Youtube videos are watched every single day.
• Netflix now has 139 million subscribers globally.
• In 2019, video made up to 80% of all internet traffic, according to Cisco.
(Felix, n.d.)
Consumer Trends
The use of technology has changed over the past 3–5 years. More and more people are using smaller gadgets, such as Iphone or Ipads to utilise and surf the web.
The improvements over time in producing smaller but just as powerful, if not better technological products with improved speed of downloading software’s is making consumers purchase portable products.
E.g. Apple has Siri and Google has a voice search feature. This now eradicates the use of typing and simply speaking to your device to search for a particular thing.
Technology Improvement: The use of AR
Summary
All in all, technology has and is playing a massive impact in the way we live our lives. The constant developments in technology is enabling us as consumers to easily navigate through the internet to research or find information more easily and precisely. With developments of Google now tracking our search, they have produced a mechanism with showing adverts that would apply to us. The constant developments are making consumers more demanding of products and making spend more time on the internet.
There are pros and cons about the evolution of the internet, but overall I believe the pros do outweigh the cons and that we as humans will work to tackle the challenges out there and improve in the benefits of the development of the internet.