======World Wide Web======
=====General Information=====
  * **Type:** [[Muggle]] Technology, Global Information System
  * **Inventor:** Tim Berners-Lee ([[Muggle]])
  * **Status in Wizarding World:** Largely unknown and unused. It is considered a purely [[Muggle]] invention with no practical application in the magical community.
=====Description and Wizarding Perception=====
The World Wide Web, often simply called "the web," is a [[Muggle]] information system where documents and other web resources are identified by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), which may be interlinked by hypertext, and are accessible over the Internet. It is accessed using a [[Muggle]] device known as a [[computer]]. By the 1990s, it had become a central aspect of [[Muggle]] communication, commerce, and daily life.
To the majority of the [[wizarding world]], the web is a complete unknown. Most [[wizards]] and [[witches]] live in relative isolation from [[Muggle]] society and have no need or desire for their technology. For the few who are aware of it, such as [[Arthur Weasley]] from the [[Ministry of Magic|Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office]], it is viewed with a mixture of curiosity and bemusement, seen as one of the clever but ultimately cumbersome ways [[Muggles]] "get by without [[magic]]." This perception reflects a general wizarding ignorance and condescension towards non-magical solutions.
=====Usage in the Wizarding World=====
The World Wide Web is entirely non-functional within major magical locations like [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]. The primary reason for this is the disruptive effect of concentrated [[magic]] on sophisticated [[Muggle]] electronics. As [[Hermione Granger]] explained, technologies that rely on [[electricity]], such as [[computers]], "go haywire" in environments with a high ambient level of [[magic]].
This magical interference effectively prevents the adoption of the web and other digital technologies within the core of the [[wizarding world]]. Instead of the web, the magical community relies on its own established, and often more efficient, methods of long-distance communication and information retrieval. These include, but are not limited to:
  * [[Owl Post]] for physical mail delivery.
  * The [[Floo Network]] for travel and communication.
  * [[Patronus|Patronus]] messengers for urgent and secure communication.
  * Magical publications like the //[[Daily Prophet]]// for news.
  * Extensive magical libraries for research.
=====Role in the Story=====
The World Wide Web is mentioned by name only once in the original book series. In //[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]//, [[Hermione Granger]] discusses the mystery of how reporter [[Rita Skeeter]] is acquiring private information from within the grounds of [[Hogwarts]]. She dismisses the possibility of electronic bugs or other surveillance technologies, explaining to [[Harry Potter]] and [[Ron Weasley]] that such [[Muggle]] devices would not function at the school. This conversation serves to reinforce the rules of the magical world and close a potential plot hole regarding modern technology.
The existence of the web and [[computers]] in the [[Muggle]] world during this time is also confirmed in //[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]//, when [[Dudley Dursley]] is given a [[computer]] by his parents after he throws his television out of the window.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
The official Wizarding World website (formerly Pottermore) elaborates on the relationship between [[magic]] and technology in an article titled "Technology." The article confirms that [[wizards]] do not use the internet, not only because of magical interference but also because they simply have no need for it. Their own magical methods of communication are described as being more secure and often faster than [[Muggle]] alternatives. It posits that [[magic]] and [[electricity]] are incompatible forces, which explains why wizarding homes are lit by [[candles]] and fire rather than light bulbs. (Pottermore)