001R Being Online*

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You hear the term ‘online’ everywhere, but what does it mean and how do you join in? Lets discover the Internet, and how to ‘be online’, and all while staying safe and secure.

The internet, previously referred to as “The Web”, has transformed how people find information, learn, communicate, entertain themselves and buy and sell. Using the Internet is known as ‘being online’. It does not matter how you use it, on your computer or smartphone, to be online means you are connected.

You can use the internet for many things, you chose how you want to use it, a little or a lot.

Staying in touch with friends and family is easy on the internet. You can send emails anywhere in the world. Or, with a microphone and internet connection, you can make free phone calls online. You’ll find these are often already built into every smartphone and tablet. So, wherever your friends are, the internet lets you stay in touch quickly, cheaply and easily.

Social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter help people keep in touch. Among other things, these sites let you send messages, chat to friends and share photos.

  • Online shopping & banking

Most major retailers have a website. They may offer a wider range of products at lower prices online than they do on the high street. All you have to do is decide what you want, pay and you can have it delivered straight to your door. Whether you want to buy a new TV or just do your weekly food shop, you can do it all online.

Internet banking is an easy and secure way of managing your finances at any time of the day or night, seven days a week. You can pay bills, set up and change direct debits and standing orders, or just check your balance.

Not only is this incredibly convenient, you are able to shop or bank at a time that suits you, from any location, but can be a life-saver for those who are unable to physically make the trip to the bank or shop, perhaps through illness or family commitments.

  • Accessing Services

Nowadays a vast number of services have been moved online. Whereas before you could go to an office, or even phone them and speak to someone, now you will be told to ‘go online’. From government departments to even seeing your doctor, registering for college or even contacting the police, these will involve you submitting your request using their website.

  • Finding information

The internet is ‘information’. The World Wide Web was built expressly to make all human knowledge easily accessible, though they never thought it would look like it does today!

Search engines such as Google or encyclopedias like Wikipedia can help you find what you’re looking for in no time. You can research places to go on holiday, help your children with their homework or just get the news and weather.

To be online and to access the internet, you need an internet connection.

This could be your home computer connected to the internet through a broadband connection (eg ‘ADSL‘ or ‘Fibre‘). The term broadband means that it is faster than the older dial-up internet connections. You will need a telephone line for this connection. This is a wired connection (it needs wires).

File:Wireless-icon.svg - Wikimedia Commons

Or maybe using a tablet, like an iPad or Android, and most smart phones. These connect using WiFi connection. WiFi simply means wireless, and whilst a desktop computer likely has a wired connection, a laptop might have both a wired and wireless connection. Many places such as libraries and cafés provide free WiFi.

Or you might access the internet with a smartphone. Smartphones, eg iPhones, connect to the internet using the mobile phone network, so you can access the internet from almost anywhere. If you have WiFi at home, they can switch automatically from using the expensive mobile data to cheap home WiFi.

Alternatively, you can make your smart phone provide the WiFi!