The history of the Internet is truly fascinating. I t has a lot in common with a toxic relationship . It began as a project to share knowledge, turned into an all-consuming passion, and grew until it lost sight of its original purpose. And yet it’s still there, as captivating as ever, with the lingering temptation to relive those feelings, even though you know it will never be the same again.

But to understand why this happens, we need to take a closer look at the four stages that could lead such a powerful and controversial love story to a painful breakup.

Officially born back in October 1969, a year full of new developments, the first precursor to the Internet was called ARPANET, after ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), an agency of the United States Department of Defense. Its initial goal was to allow universities and research centers to share computing resources, processing power, and data remotely.…