While the particular brand is merely one of many that have a major impact on the online environment, it is vital to realize just how Facebook changes the internet and the world. There is a number of powers currently at work in the world we live in, and the internet is rapidly gaining even more ground in our lives than it has before.

Just recent reports are stating that the number of internet users on a global scale grew by 300 million individuals in the last year. So while at the end of 2014 there were 2.9 billion internet users globally, the end of 2015 marked the 43% milestone – 3.2 billion people online were reported to be connected to the internet in one way or another. That includes having a data plan on your phone, portable hotspots, cable or fiber and so on.

The reason behind the increase is most definitely not single. Along with the fact that prices for data have gone down and data package variety has increased in a dynamic manner, more people were capable of gaining access to a method of going online, even in the case of lower incomes. While it is not a globally valid fact, 2014 also registered an increase in global incomes, making the price of being online frugal in some places.

Mobile broadband coverage is another contributing factor that a recent study Facebook has done in regards to the state of connectivity post 2015. More than 400 million individuals were taken into the range of 3G or 4G connectivity as carriers expanded the number of areas where mobile data functions. It should be no surprise that by the year we are in now, a staggering amount of the global internet traffic is done mostly via mobile means. While in first world countries such as the United States, mobile internet is a thing of comfort and flexibility, there are parts of the world that only have that as their only method of going online.

However, that is not the only thing that Facebook has been doing lately. Apparently, with the use of a technology involving artificial intelligence learning machine, the tech giant is using its immense reach and the social network’s photo tagging features to create an enormous map of where people live.

This will yield the company even more data regarding the state of connectivity that could help with their study and elucidate factors such as population density and its impact on connecting to the Internet. Such a large scale move could also lead to developing a method of handling and managing natural disasters in the future. So far, Facebook has managed to map 21.6 million square kilometers across the globe with the use of 350 terabytes worth of images.

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