what is the internet for?

this formulation is a little more ambiguous, and poetic, and thus maybe more conducive to real insight.

does the internet serve some one purpose? would it be useful to answer that question? from a narrow perspective, it serves (we can probably say) a purpose to someone using it, and what that purpose is depends on what they're doing with (on it) it at a particular moment. from the opposite, most broad perspective, does it serve a purpose for, um, the universe ... or, zooming in somewhat, the world, and then society?

the narrower question produces a cloud of new questions. we could look at each user and ask, what purpose is the internet serving for this person. from this perspective, the answer looks like a cloud of undifferentiated answers. we have to look at the individual answers to extract meaning from the answer.

the broader question  produces something more like a tree, with the question being "the root." does the universe have a purpose? do the world and society have a purpose? what do the words "a purpose" mean?