--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The internet is still at the beginning of…" description: "\"“The internet is still at the beginning of its beginning. It is only becoming. If we could climb into a time machine, journey 30 years into the future,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/kevin-kelly-2418_contact-lenses_the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-o_1692877.jpg" --- # The internet is still at the beginning of its beginning… ![“The internet is still at the beginning of its beginning. It is only becoming. If we could climb into a time machine, journey 30 years into the future, and from that vantage look back to today, we’d realize that most of the greatest products running the lives of citizens in 2050 were not invented…” quote by Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/kevin-kelly-2418_contact-lenses_the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-o_1692877.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/kevin-kelly-2418_contact-lenses_the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-o_1692877.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/kevin-kelly-2418_contact-lenses_the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-o_1692877.jpg) > ““The internet is still at the beginning of its beginning. It is only becoming. If we could climb into a time machine, journey 30 years into the future, and from that vantage look back to today, we’d realize that most of the greatest products running the lives of citizens in 2050 were not invented until after 2016. People in the future will look at their holodecks and wearable virtual reality contact lenses and downloadable avatars and AI interfaces and say, “Oh, you didn’t really have the internet”—or whatever they’ll call it—“back then.”” [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The internet is in its early stages; future technologies will seem unimaginable today, and later generations will view current tech as primitive. **In simple terms:** Internet is just beginning; future tech will dwarf it. Key Takeaway Embrace and and experiment now. Themes technology future innovation Mood curious optimistic speculative Type prophetic inspirational When to use this quote - startup culture - R&D - product design - policy planning Key Concepts digital evolution exponential growth technological optimism Questions to Reflect On - How might current biases shape future tech? - What responsibilities do we have to future users? A Different Perspective Future tech may be limited by social, ethical, or resource constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [2050 Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/2050-invented-1072921/) [Contact lenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contact-lenses/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Internet Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet-beginning-1072920/) [Really Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-internet-479959/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-machine/) [Virtual reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtual-reality/) [Years Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-future-421671/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not really part of the Internet world, my age a factor in that and a lack of interest in sharing with so many,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-trudeau/i-m-not-really-part-of-the-internet-world-my-age-a-factor-in-that-and/) [Margaret Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-trudeau/) > [I don't really do anything with the Internet except check my email. I have a much higher opinion of humanity because of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-really-do-anything-with-the-internet-except-check-my-email-i/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [The only time I really go on the Internet is for recipes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/the-only-time-i-really-go-on-the-internet-is-for-recipes/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [For a person who lives 100 years in the future, the present comes as no surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-schauberger/for-a-person-who-lives-100-years-in-the-future-the-present-comes-as/) [Viktor Schauberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-schauberger/) > [I would want to go to the future, 25 years in the future, and see if the Cubs ever win a World Series.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-want-to-go-to-the-future-25-years-in-the-future-and-see-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's no doubt if you could go 5, 10, 15 million years into the future and dig down to 2016, you would be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lacovara/there-s-no-doubt-if-you-could-go-5-10-15-million-years-into-the/) [Kenneth Lacovara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lacovara/) > [“Maybe it’s seventy years in the future and you found this book in a stack of junk being used to block the entrance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/maybe-it-s-seventy-years-in-the-future-and-you-found-this-book-in-a-2/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [“I hope that if I ever travel two thousand years into the future, there will still be bacon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/i-hope-that-if-i-ever-travel-two-thousand-years-into-the-future-there/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [We have been working hard to think about what our combined needs are going to be in the way of intelligence capabilities, not today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cambone/we-have-been-working-hard-to-think-about-what-our-combined-needs-are/) [Stephen Cambone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cambone/) > [Been winning so many years and the future is brigh.t Now it's very clear. That we gon' be rich forever and ever and ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/been-winning-so-many-years-and-the-future-is-brigh-t-now-it-s-very/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [The youth of eighteen years his future is not aware, of the future of the country but can be fixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mal-786/the-youth-of-eighteen-years-his-future-is-not-aware-of-the-future-of/) [Mal\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mal-786/) > [When I was in Japan on tour in 2010, I felt like I was 30 years into the future. I love technology and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soulja-boy/when-i-was-in-japan-on-tour-in-2010-i-felt-like-i-was-30-years-into/) [Soulja Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soulja-boy/) > [I might be able to find out what happened 6,000 years ago but I will never know what happens 6,000 years in the future!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-french/i-might-be-able-to-find-out-what-happened-6-000-years-ago-but-i-will/) [Jackie French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-french/) > [My job as a mayor is to look 10, 15, 20 years into the future and think not just about my generation, but about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-x-suarez/my-job-as-a-mayor-is-to-look-10-15-20-years-into-the-future-and-think/) [Francis X. Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-x-suarez/) > [“Short-termism also dominates in the marketplace. The market uses a discount rate of 10% per year (or more) when comparing costs now with benefits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-randers/short-termism-also-dominates-in-the-marketplace-the-market-uses-a/) [Jørgen Randers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-randers/) ## More by Kevin Kelly > [We are reaching deep within ourselves to adjust the master knob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-are-reaching-deep-within-ourselves-to-adjust-the-master-knob/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [This is the culmination of a lot of people's vision. I think this is just another step towards making Central Michigan football among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/this-is-the-culmination-of-a-lot-of-people-s-vision-i-think-this-is/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“When copies are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/when-copies-are-free-you-need-to-sell-things-that-cannot-be-copied/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“Existence, it seems, is chiefly maintenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/existence-it-seems-is-chiefly-maintenance/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“We have no certainty we’ll contact extraterrestrial beings from one of the billion earthlike planets in the sky in the next 200 years, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-have-no-certainty-we-ll-contact-extraterrestrial-beings-from-one/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Changing things from the top down works when things are stable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/changing-things-from-the-top-down-works-when-things-are-stable/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [It's generally much easier to kill an organization than to change it substantially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/it-s-generally-much-easier-to-kill-an-organization-than-to-change-it/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The only organization capable of unprejudiced growth, or unguided learning, is a network. All othertopologies limit what can happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-only-organization-capable-of-unprejudiced-growth-or-unguided/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We have to get better at believing the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-have-to-get-better-at-believing-the-impossible/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“Our most important mechanical inventions are not machines that do what humans do better, but machines that can do things we can’t do at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/our-most-important-mechanical-inventions-are-not-machines-that-do/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“In the universal library, no book will be an island. It’s all connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/in-the-universal-library-no-book-will-be-an-island-it-s-all-connected/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Singularity is the point at which "all the change in the last million years will be superseded by the change in the next five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/singularity-is-the-point-at-which-all-the-change-in-the-last-million/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [We tend to think of the mind of an organization residing in the CEO and the organization's top managers, perhaps with the help of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-tend-to-think-of-the-mind-of-an-organization-residing-in-the-ceo/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The smallest thought could not exist unless the entire universe and the laws of physics were in some way encouraging it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-smallest-thought-could-not-exist-unless-the-entire-universe-and/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“From the days of Sumerian clay tablets until now, humans have “published” at least 310 million books, 1.4 billion articles and essays, 180 million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/from-the-days-of-sumerian-clay-tablets-until-now-humans-have/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) [Explore all 167 Kevin Kelly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) ## More Contact lenses quotes > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [NeW contact lenses :D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/new-contact-lenses-d/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because I am a horrible flincher, contact lenses are not an option. I'm always envious of contact-wearers. There are endless reasons to take off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/because-i-am-a-horrible-flincher-contact-lenses-are-not-an-option-i-m/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [With any tween, you have issues, from what they are going to wear to school, to how do you get them to speak politely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-gay-harden/with-any-tween-you-have-issues-from-what-they-are-going-to-wear-to/) [Marcia Gay Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-gay-harden/) > [“She wears glasses that are not too small. I wish I was a girl like that. I wear contact lenses because glasses make me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-comeau/she-wears-glasses-that-are-not-too-small-i-wish-i-was-a-girl-like/) [Joey Comeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-comeau/) > [I played football for Leeds United under-18s, but at 17 my eyes started to go and I had to wear glasses. The football had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-boycott/i-played-football-for-leeds-united-under-18s-but-at-17-my-eyes/) [Geoffrey Boycott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-boycott/) > [Contact lenses are for vain, weak-willed piglets who swan around showing off: 'Look everybody, I can see without spectacles. No one at first glance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-proops/contact-lenses-are-for-vain-weak-willed-piglets-who-swan-around/) [Greg Proops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-proops/) > [The one thing in the world that I can't do without is my glasses. I don't really care about my laptop, I never answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-bronze/the-one-thing-in-the-world-that-i-can-t-do-without-is-my-glasses-i/) [Lucy Bronze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-bronze/) > [To me, wearing glasses is no pleasure, but once I conceded that I simply couldn't properly judge distance without them, I began to experiment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/to-me-wearing-glasses-is-no-pleasure-but-once-i-conceded-that-i/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [Contact lenses make me miserable, as soon as I put them in. That's what creates the pouting and brooding character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/contact-lenses-make-me-miserable-as-soon-as-i-put-them-in-that-s-what/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [I was shy, but it came out in a big personality. My turning point was when I let my hair go naturally and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/i-was-shy-but-it-came-out-in-a-big-personality-my-turning-point-was/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [I think that a lot of players and a lot of teams don't think of contact lenses as being a part of that essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-reilly/i-think-that-a-lot-of-players-and-a-lot-of-teams-don-t-think-of/) [Heather O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-reilly/) > [Remember the movie 'The Matrix,' where virtual information popped up to help inform physical day-to-day reality? Such things won't always be the stuff of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/remember-the-movie-the-matrix-where-virtual-information-popped-up-to/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [Kyouya my hair stylist. Mori-senpi go to the eye doctor and get him some contact lenses. -Tamaki What about me Tama-chan? -Hunny Hunny senpi.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bisco-hatori/kyouya-my-hair-stylist-mori-senpi-go-to-the-eye-doctor-and-get-him/) [Bisco Hatori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bisco-hatori/) [Browse all 58 Contact lenses quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contact-lenses/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The internet is still at the beginning of its beginning. It is only becoming. If we could climb into a time machine, journey 30 years into the future, and from that vantage look back to today, we’d realize that most of the greatest products running the lives of citizens in 2050 were not invented until after 2016. People in the future will look at their holodecks and wearable virtual reality contact lenses and downloadable avatars and AI interfaces and say, “Oh, you didn’t really have the internet”—or whatever they’ll call it—“back then.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kevin Kelly" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-of-its-beginning-it-is-only/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contact lenses" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-of-its-beginning-it-is-only/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/kevin-kelly-2418_contact-lenses_the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-o_1692877.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/kevin-kelly-2418_contact-lenses_the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-o_1692877.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/kevin-kelly-2418_contact-lenses_the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-o_1692877.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The internet is still at the beginning of its beginning. It is only becoming. If we could climb into a time…” — Kevin Kelly", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kevin Kelly", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The internet is still at the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-of-its-beginning-it-is-only/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/the-internet-is-still-at-the-beginning-of-its-beginning-it-is-only/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```