How the Internet Really Works: A Simple Guide Anyone Can Understand (Part 1)

I just went on a serious journey to understand how the internet works, and I’m ready to break it down for you. Get your coffee and listen to what I have to say.

So What Actually Is the Internet?

Let me start with something you might have experienced but never really thought about. Have you ever used AirDrop on an iPhone to send photos to another iPhone nearby? Or used apps like Xender or SHAREit to transfer files between phones? Notice how these work even when you don’t have internet or data?

That’s because your devices can actually create their own small networks and talk to each other directly. Your phone, laptop, and smart TV at home can all connect to each other through your WiFi router without needing the internet — that’s called your home network or Local Area Network (LAN). Your neighbor also has the same setup in their house where their devices can connect to each other.

But what if you want to send a WhatsApp message to your friend in another state? Or watch a YouTube video? That’s where the internet comes in!

Think of the internet like roads. You can walk around your compound without needing any road, but if you want to visit your friend who doesn’t live with you, or go to church, or the shopping mall, you need roads to get there.

Same thing with computers. A computer can’t talk to other computers outside its local area without the internet. The internet is like the road system for computers.

So just like roads connect different compounds and areas for humans to interact, the internet is a network of networks that helps computers interact with each other.

What Do Computers Talk About?

When humans talk, we share our voices — greetings, gist, stories. When computers communicate, they share data. Data is just information in digital form.

So anytime I mention computers communicating, just know I’m talking about data being sent, received, and shared between them.

Every Computer Has an Address

Here’s something cool — every computer connected to the internet has something called an IP address. This IP address is like the location of that computer.

The internet uses this IP address to know exactly which computer you want to send data to. It’s like knowing someone’s house address before you can visit them.

Breaking Data Into Small Pieces

Now, when you want to send data from your computer to Google’s computer, something interesting happens. The data doesn’t travel as one big chunk. Instead, it gets broken down into smaller bits and packaged into something called packets.

Think of packets like small boxes. If your data is small, it can fit into one packet. But if it’s large — let’s say you’re sending a PDF file — it gets broken into smaller pieces and each piece goes into its own packet.

But these packets need to contain certain information to help with delivery. Just like when you want to send a package through a courier service, you need to write down where it’s coming from, where it’s going, and who is sending and receiving it.

In our case, each packet contains:

• The IP address it’s coming from (so the receiving computer knows it’s from your computer)
• The IP address it’s going to (so the internet knows where to deliver it)
• The order number of that piece

So if your PDF is broken into 20 pieces, packet number 20 will contain your IP address, the receiver’s IP address, and the number 20 showing its position.

Meet the Router: Your Traffic Director

Once your packets are ready, they get sent to your router. The router is that physical device in your house that helps make sure your packets reach their destination.

Think of routers like road signs that show directions. When you’re driving and you see a sign, it doesn’t stop you to ask where you’re going. It just shows you which direction to take based on where you want to go.

That’s exactly what routers do. They look at the destination address written on your packet and think “okay, this address is that way” and send it in the right direction.

There are many routers along the internet network, just like there are many road signs when you’re traveling to a far place. Each router your packet meets will read the destination address and point it toward the right path.

Your home router: The first stop for all your packets before they journey across the internet

The Journey From Your House to the World

Here’s how your packets travel:

First, they go from your computer to your home router. Then your home router sends them to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) — companies like Airtel, MTN, GLO, or Spectranet.

Your ISP router looks at where your packets want to go and suggests the best path they should follow to get there quickly. Along the way, your packets will meet other routers that will keep directing them until they reach their final destination.

This is exactly how your WhatsApp message travels from your phone to your friend across the country

How Everything Gets Put Back Together

This is where something called TCP comes in. TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol, but just think of it as the inspector that makes sure everything arrives safely.

Here’s the cool part — TCP works on both your computer and the receiving computer.

When you’re sending data, TCP on your computer helps package everything properly before sending it out. When the data reaches its destination, TCP on the receiving computer acts like a quality checker:

• It waits for packets to arrive
• It checks each packet to make sure it’s from the right sender
• It arranges all the packets in the correct order using those numbers we talked about
• If some packets are missing, it sends a message back to your computer saying “please send the missing pieces again”
• Once everything is complete and in the right order, it gives the complete data to the receiving computer

Understanding Protocols: The Rules of the Internet

Before we continue, let’s talk about something important — protocols. A protocol is basically a set of standardized rules that computers follow to communicate with each other. Think of it like the rules of a game — everyone needs to follow the same rules for the game to work properly.

These protocols help computers make sure that data is sent securely, reliably, and in the correct order. Without protocols, it would be like everyone speaking different languages — total chaos!

How IP and TCP Work Together

The two main protocols we’ve been talking about are IP (Internet Protocol) and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), and they work together like a team.

When we talked about IP addresses earlier, we were actually talking about part of the IP protocol — the system that gives every computer a unique address and provides the rules for how packets should be formatted so routers can read them.

Think of TCP like a reliable postal service that makes sure your mail gets delivered completely and in the right order. IP is like the addressing and delivery system that makes sure your mail knows how to get from your house to the destination.

Every packet follows IP protocol rules (so routers can read the addresses properly) and uses TCP protocol to make sure nothing gets lost. They’re not separate things — they work together to make sure your data travels safely.

There’s More to Learn

Now, I’ve only covered TCP and IP here, but there are many other protocols that make the internet work. You’ll hear about protocols like HTTP (for websites), HTTPS (for secure websites), SSL, TLS (for encryption), and many others as you dive deeper into how the internet works.

Each protocol has its own job, but they all work together to create the amazing system we call the internet.

Why This Is Amazing

The internet isn’t just a network — it’s an incredible design that works perfectly. Think about it: you can break information into pieces, send them through completely different paths around the world, and put them back together perfectly on the other side.

Every time you send a message, watch a video, or browse a website, this whole process happens in seconds. Packets are created, routers make quick decisions, and TCP makes sure everything arrives safely.

What This Means for You

Understanding how the internet works helps you understand the technology world we live in. The next time your internet is slow, you’ll think about busy routers. When a website takes time to load, you’ll imagine packets traveling different routes to reach you.

And when everything works perfectly, you’ll appreciate the amazing engineering that makes it all possible.

Now you understand how the internet works and how these protocols help make sure data is sent reliably and securely!

What part of internet technology would you like to learn about next? Drop a comment below and let me know!