# internet (digital)

a system of linked connections through which users send and receive information using devices

- Computed level: L10 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: digital  ·  Arena: internet

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [system](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-system.organized), [links](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-links.connection), [data](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-data.information), [device](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-device.tool), [send](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-send.communication), [receive](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-receive.communication), [user](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-user.role), [connection](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-connection.social), [information](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-information.knowledge), [use](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-use.application)

**Through:** the organized system uses connected links and devices to enable users to send and receive information

**Novel properties:**
- global information exchange
- decentralized connectivity
- user-mediated data flow

## Examples
- The 1983 launch of NSFNET connected academic institutions across the United States, expanding access beyond military use. *(computing)*
- Iran's National Information Network routed domestic traffic through local servers during the 2019 internet shutdown. *(institutions)*
- Undersea fiber-optic cables like MAREA, completed in 2018, carry data between Virginia and Spain at 160 terabits per second. *(engineering)*

## Used by
- [website](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-website.digital) (L17)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-internet.digital*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-internet.digital.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*