Few days ago I was thinking about how we lived our lives before Internet came along and how many changes Internet brought, especially in the last 10 years or so. Do you remember the good old times? We used to go out more and play games there instead on our PCs and game consoles, we used to write letters and call people at home to talk with them, read the news in the papers or watch them on the TV, and actually drive or walk to the shop to buy something.

Some things have been lost and some ruined with the introduction of the Internet, some stayed the same, but great things have also arrived with it. I have attempted to list the best ones in this post. Have a read and tell me if you agree.

By the way, for this list I have ignored any business use of the Internet. I am thinking more in terms of private use.

Email and Instant messaging – It saves time and money and it completely replaced physical mail.

Online shopping – eBay and Web shops enable you to find things that may not be available in your city or country and it can save you money.

Online dating – Some people are totally against this but it has brought many people together and while not every relationship works out, some people stay together and marry after meeting online.

Find lost contacts – You can find highschool and long-lost friends without having to hire a private investigator. Facebook is useful after all 🙂

Many news sources – Now you don’t have to wait for the evening news to hear what’s going on. You can read unbiased online news from sources all over the World.

Do it yourself articles – You can save money by researching a topic and learn to build or repair stuff by yourself.

Educate yourself for free – You can find tutorials, e-books, historical, political and scientific articles and connect with other knowledgable people and learn (almost) anything you want.

Entertainment – Internet is like a giant library, TV and gaming center all in one. You don’t have to be bored ever again. You can watch movies, shows, educational videos, listen to radio and music, read, learn, research, play games, communicate with other people and do lots of other fun stuff.

Sports scores – if you cannot watch a game on TV or online (and often you can), you can at least get live scores. When you want to know how the LA Lakers are playing in the latest playoff game, just have a look at NBA.com or ESPN.com.

Did I leave something out?