Why is the Internet being considered a person now? [closed]
Solution 1:
The internet is not being considered a person.
This is simply a case where "the internet" is used as shorthand for "the people on the internet". It is common in English. We see the same for:
High school girl's prom dress amazes the committee.
The rookie's skills impressed the team.
New York's claim to be "coolest city" angers San Francisco.
In each case the collective noun (committee, team, San Franciso) is used to mean the people in it. "The internet" is used in the same way. It's an example of "metonymy".
Solution 2:
I am not totally sure about this, but I think it's because the internet is supported and made by a mass of people that collaborate together.
If you have a question, have you ever heard the phrase 'Ask Google'? That probably means the internet is a person that answers your questions. Each site and conversation that you had on the internet contributes to the system and networks of people from all over the world. That is why when you're talking about the internet, you're referring to a large web of people, socially connected together.
Solution 3:
This is normal for a collection of people associated with a single entity or concept
Consider the following quotes as similar examples.
- Party voting to elect new leader and deputy
- Greece ends lockdown measures and opens to tourists
- The Health Service Executive (HSE) said it had taken the precaution of closing down its systems to further protect them and assess the situation
- This is London calling
A political party, a country's legislature, a government department or a broadcasting organisation in a city are clearly not people. They are collections of people, making some collective decision or taking some collective action. (Or at least some group within that entity are making the collective decision or taking collective action.)
This is not new. The only element of novelty here is "the Internet", and that's only novel if you've been living in a cellar for the last 25 years. :)