The internet and the web — Computing, 7–10
The internet carries connections; the web is one service that uses them. Computing, 7–10 years.
Two related things
The internet is the worldwide network of connected devices and the rules that let them exchange information. The web is a collection of pages and services that travel across that network, usually through a browser. Email, online games and video calls can use the internet without being web pages.
Why the distinction helps
People often say internet when they mean the web because the web is what they see most often. The distinction grew from a practical need: many different services had to share the same connected infrastructure. Knowing the difference helps you describe a problem: a page may fail while a game or email still works.
Opening one page
You type a news website address into a browser. The browser uses the internet to ask the website’s computer for the page, that computer sends back its text and pictures, and the browser arranges them on your screen. The network carried the request and answer; the web page was the service you used.
Not every online thing is a web page
It is reasonable to call every online activity the internet, because all of them need a connection. But a multiplayer game may use its own messages, and email uses its own service; neither must be a web page. So when a page will not load, do not assume every internet service is broken.
A useful question
This difference helps when you explain what is happening at home or school. You can say, The Wi-Fi is connected, but this web page is unavailable, or, The web works, but the game server is not answering. Clear words make it easier to test the right part instead of restarting everything at once.
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