The Internet is Older Than You Think: A Timeline from ARPANET to TCP/IP While many associate the internet's beginnings with the 1990s, its roots actually trace back to the late 1960s. This article explores the key milestones in the development of the internet, from the initial ARPANET experiment in 1969 to the adoption of TCP/IP in 1983, which unified disparate networks into the global system we use today. When trying to figure out exactly how long the internet has been around, most people probably think back to the 1990s. After all, it's easy to picture those screeching dial-up modems, gigantic beige desktop towers and monitors, endless flood of America Online trial CDs jamming up mailboxes, and having a dedicated room in your house just for your computer. It's tempting to link the birth of our always-connected world with the rise of early search engines and social media, but the reality is far more complex and goes back much further than the days of AOL Chat and GeoCities.