Editor's Note: Tuesday marked the 50th anniversary of the birth of the internet. People half a century ago would never have imagined that the world would become interconnected as it is today. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Since its creation 50 years ago, the internet has never stopped motivating innovation. According to a report from the World Intellectual Property Organization, among the top 30 companies in the world in terms of patent applications over the past 20 years, 80 percent are internet-related companies. Due to its wide application, the internet has played a big role in driving innovation in sectors such as industry, agriculture, medical care and education.

The internet has endlessly driven economic and social development. The digital revolution marked by computers and the internet at the end of the 20th century has brought great prosperity, and it has helped the United States consolidate its economic and technological superpower status. Today, the data revolution represented by the internet of things and big data is booming and becoming an engine of global economy. A report on digital economy released by the United Nations in September showed the global digital economy is worth $11.5 trillion, accounting for 15.5 percent of the total global economic output.

The internet has increasingly shortened the distance between people and countries, changed their traditional view of time and space, and enabled more and more people to enjoy the development fruits of information technology. In addition to its "role of connection", the internet has also profoundly changed everyone's daily life, with the convenience of online shopping, shared travel, mobile payments and online learning.

The development dynamism of the internet will become stronger and its development space broader with the momentum of the new scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. However, cyberspace, like the real world, also faces problems and challenges, such as abuse of information technology, an arms race in cyberspace, hacker attacks and cyber surveillance, which pose major threats to internet security and order. Governance of international cyberspace, protection of minors, security of network data, and sound development of the digital economy are still areas where the internet governance system urgently needs to be improved.

People must bid farewell to unilateralism and protectionism and embrace connectivity, sharing and open cooperation as the driving force for prosperity and progress.