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It's a Small Net After All: Difference between revisions
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Even though the Internet has technically (kinda, sorta) existed since the 1960s, not everyone foresaw the impact it would have. And writers ''still'' seem to have trouble getting their heads around it.
One result is that for a long time it
Another is that, even now, TV shows never seem to really grasp just how ''big'' the Internet is.
One example of this is that [[Google]] comes off as a [[Magical Database]]: on the first try with a search engine, you will either get all the relevant documents and no irrelevant ones, or you will get a canonical response that the thing you're looking for does not exist on the Internet. Never has someone typed something in and gotten ten billion mostly irrelevant hits (well, almost never—see examples). And one false click never buries you in a quicksand pit of [[The Internet Is for Porn|porn popups]].
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Another is that there is exactly one instant messaging service. And everyone is a subscriber. And everyone knows everyone else's handle. You can message anyone you want at any time without having to install new software, subscribe to a new service, or even search for their screen name.
And speaking of screen names, everyone gets something short, pithy, relevant, and unique. No one is ever "JAnderson789" or "buffyfan2001". Even if you want a short, really hip handle, it will be available as if it were reserved for you. And no one names themselves after characters from other TV shows. Also, everyone has exactly one online identity, which is their email address, instant messaging handle, their handle on every bulletin board, the underground identity by which they're known in the illegal hacking community, and the name they use on
{{examples}}▼
After more than two decades of the Internet being part of modern society, this trope is slowly becoming [[Discredited Trope|discredited]] -- but it is not going easily, or willingly. The fantasy Net of this trope is entirely too handy and too easy for hack writers to give it up until even [[Executive Meddling|network executives start saying, "that's ''wrong''."]]
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'' averts this one. Late in the series, Sakaki types in a search engine "cats", a super-generic search term, and gets thousands and thousands of random matches; then she types "Iriomote cat", also a rather generic search term, and it looks like one of the very first matches is a news article about {{spoiler|an Iriomote mountain cat that died after getting run over by a car, who also seems to be Mayaa's mother}}.
** Note that the Iriomote cat is a very endangered (due to the erosion of his habitat) species found only in Japan (and very beloved by the japanese as one of their last wild animals) with a population of under 100. A news item about such a rare animal {{spoiler|being killed by a car}} would likely rank highly in most search engines as a very popular news story.
* Played straight in episode 4 of ''[[
** Saten doesn't just google the term, but writes in on the search bar of some web forum focusing around urban legends and conspiracy theories. Those would be less likely to show outright porn on the subject matter.
* ''[[Midori Days]]'' has, in one chapter, Seiji trying to learn how to use the internet with Midori's help. So they try a search engine. [[All Men Are Perverts|Seiji tries looking for porn right away]]. Later, Midori decides to look up her own name, and is surprised when she finds a search result. Try Googling your first name. You'll find a result, almost guaranteed.
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== Web Comics ==
* In the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' mini-arc "[https://web.archive.org/web/20101126224320/http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=090110&mode=weekly Interweb with the Vampire]" the fictional email/instant message service ''Grab-All'' plays this trope big time. Aside from Torg and Sam having the screen names "Torg" and "Sam," ''Grab-All's'' search engine is a little ... extensive.
{{quote|'''Sam''': Not just mail (...) you can keep your passwords, private documents, financial information, medical records, and skeletons-in-your-closet all in one handy location accessible from any online computer!}}
* Played straight, but mockingly, in ''[[Questionable Content]]''.
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'''Faye''': What, you're just gonna google "crazy chick on a vespa" and see what comes up?
'''Marten''': The internet knows everything. It's like Kim Peek only rude and [[The Internet Is for Porn|obsessed with pornography]]. }}
** Hannelore finds and downloads ''all'' the cute animal pictures on the Internet. By hand, in just a few days, and onto a single computer, [http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1290 from the sound of it.] The bounty from [https://web.archive.org/web/20131101163205/http://cuteoverload.com/ Cute Overload] alone would probably fill up her hard drive...
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== Real Life ==
* The standard fictional search engine used on British TV is [
* In Mexico, ''everybody'' uses MSN Hotmail, MSN Spaces, and MSN Messenger. AIM, ICQ and Jabber are almost unheard of, Gmail is pretty much reserved to computer geeks, and Myspace is usually used by amateur bands (Facebook is gaining popularity too).
** Same thing in the Middle East, except replace "MSN Spaces" with Facebook, and Gmail is becoming fairly popular recently.
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[[Category:Its A Small Net After All]]
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[[Category:Technology Tropes]]
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