Really, What Is The Internet To You?

So I just had a thought, yes an actual thought, about the internet and what it means to me.

Over on Webct I became involved in a discussion about Virtual Personalities, through the discussion one fellow students made the comment "The Internet, for me, is just a tool for making my social circle bigger and nearer."

Now that got me thinking, how do I really see the internet, what is it that attracts me and what do I use it for? For me the internet is not about the social aspect, it's nice but I don't really use it that much. For me the internet is about the information it provides me at the stroke of a key. Everyday I use it to find new ways of doing something, enhance the skills I all ready have or just discover random information.

Yet I know the internet is even more than that again and I am still only scraping the surface. So what is the internet to you? Community, learning mechanism, a place for shopping, a marketing tool or a tool for change?