science & techOur World in Data
Internet use only became the norm for most of humanity in the last few decades
In 1997 only about 2% of the world's population used the internet. By 2019 that share had passed 50%, and today roughly two-thirds of people are online. For many readers in rich countries the internet feels like old news, but for most of human history it did not exist at all. Its spread has been one of the fastest adoption curves of any technology, faster than electricity or the telephone reached most homes. Access still varies sharply by income, with the gap between rich and poor countries largely a question of infrastructure and affordability.
Adoption of a technology usually follows an S-shaped curve: slow at first, when few people can afford it or have a use for it, then rapid once prices fall and networks, phones and services make it useful to everyone. Mobile phones carried internet access into many low-income countries without the need for home landlines or cable. Each new user also makes the network more valuable to others, which speeds the process further.
The internet has gone from a niche tool to the main channel for news, work, money and learning within a single working life. Knowing how recent this shift is helps explain why debates about its effects on society are still so new. It also shows that the digital divide is now one of the main lines separating those who can access information from those who cannot.
Other general-purpose technologies followed similar curves. Electricity took decades to reach most homes in rich countries, and mobile phones spread even faster across much of Africa and Asia than landlines ever did. The internet's rise is part of this long pattern of tools becoming universal within a few generations.
