In the short space of twenty years our lives have been changed beyond all recognition. For many of us now, our lives are centred around the internet and it is difficult to remember what we used to do before it was invented.
Most of our life processes are now done on or by the internet. We use online dating sites instead of meeting people in person; we use online travel agents instead of going to the agency in town; we shop for our books and our clothes on the web instead of on the high street.
We apply for university online, we pay bills online and manage our bank accounts and credit cards; we even turn online to look up symptoms when we have an ache or pain. We can even look into other people's lives using things such as Google Maps and see what a street looks like on the other side of the world without visiting it.
Much of our social interaction is done on the internet in one form or another. We communicate by email, messaging and Skype instead of writing to people or picking up the phone. Our business networking is even done using a social networking site.
The internet has taken over our life to such a degree that it has reached the point of no return where we could not go back to our previous lives.