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"Is this all real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"
The topic of this article is of a real-life subject that has been mentioned "in-universe" in a canon source. The Harry Potter Wiki is written from the perspective that all information presented in canon is true (e.g., Hogwarts really existed), and, as such, details contained in this article may differ from real world facts. |
- "When you can summon any book, instrument or animal with a wave of the wand and the word Accio!; when you can communicate with friends and acquaintances by means of owl, fire, Patronus, Howler, enchanted objects such as coins, or Apparate to visit them in person; when your newspaper has moving pictures and everyday objects sometimes talk to you, then the internet does not seem a particularly exciting place."
- — Description of the Internet as compared to magical forms of communication and information gathering[src]
BuzzFeed, a news website (here depicted, an article in violation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy published during the height of the Calamity in the late 2010s)
The Internet is a system of computer networks that are interconnected, mostly used in the Muggle world. As it is primarily used by Muggles, few witches and wizards used the Internet, and those who did use it tended to do so with a "slightly condescending" curiosity, or in order to do research on Muggle Studies.[1]
Use of the Internet was one of the lessons in the Hogwarts Muggle Studies curriculum. Hogwarts students were allowed to use the Internet as research during that lesson.[2] As Muggle technology did not work properly on the school grounds, it is possible that these lessons either took place somewhere else, or that the computers kept at the school had been modified as to be powered by magic rather than electricity.
The Dursley family had Internet access in the 1990s. Harry Potter had never used it, however, as Dudley would hit him if he ever got near the computer.[3]
Known websites[]
- www.glamchops.com - website for Glamchops, a cosmetics company
- www.guardian.co.uk - website for The Guardian, a newspaper
- www.metro.co.uk - website for Metro, a newspaper
- www.radiotimes.com - website for Radio Times, a magazine
- www.rosemary'sgarden.com - a gardening website
- www.twitter.com - a social networking service
Behind the scenes[]
- The Internet serves as the home for a number of official websites related to the Harry Potter franchise, including the J. K. Rowling's official site, Pottermore, and those hosted by the various producers and distributors for the series. It is also the main host for numerous fan-works related to the series.
- In an interview in 2001, Rowling stated that "Wizards don't really need to use the Internet but that's something that you'll find out later on in the series. They have a means of finding out what goes on in the outside world that I think is more fun than the Internet. Could anything be more fun than the Internet? Yes!".[3] It is uncertain, however, what exactly she was referring to. The Daily Prophet had already been introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and is simply the Wizarding equivalent of a Muggle newspaper. The only other such medium depicted in the franchise is the wireless, and this is simply another Wizarding use of a Muggle invention.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) (First mentioned) (Website address featured on a bus ad)
- Pottermore (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter (website) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter Limited Edition (Website address featured on a bus ad)
- Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (First appearance)