Happy 25th birthday to the Internet

The “world wide web” came into existence 25 years ago today, making the internet as we know it possible.  It’s only been 25 years!  What did we do without it?  Write letters, go to actual stores to buy things, read newspapers, visit friends at their houses–can you believe people way back then actually had to live that way?  How else has the internet affected you, positively or negatively, over the last 25 years?

After the jump, results of a Pew study about how people today use and view the internet.

From Summary of Findings | Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project:

Adoption: 87% of American adults now use the internet, with near-saturation usage among those living in households earning $75,000 or more (99%), young adults ages 18-29 (97%), and those with college degrees (97%). Fully 68% of adults connect to the internet with mobile devices like smartphones or tablet computers.

The adoption of related technologies has also been extraordinary: Over the course of Pew Research Center polling, adult ownership of cell phones has risen from 53% in our first survey in 2000 to 90% now. Ownership of smartphones has grown from 35% when we first asked in 2011 to 58% now.

Impact: Asked for their overall judgment about the impact of the internet, toting up all the pluses and minuses of connected life, the public’s verdict is overwhelmingly positive:

90% of internet users say the internet has been a good thing for them personally and only 6% say it has been a bad thing, while 3% volunteer that it has been some of both.

76% of internet users say the internet has been a good thing for society, while 15% say it has been a bad thing and 8% say it has been equally good and bad.