An Internet Generation Every 10–15 Years: How Can Taiwan Regain Its Place After Falling Behind in Mobile?

The internet advances by a generation every ten to fifteen years. Taiwan seems to have fallen behind in the mobile-internet era, while China repeatedly rode that wave to rapid growth, innovating with a range of business models and gaining momentum from a frenzy of capital. After China tightened policy restrictions this year, an opportunity has instead emerged for Taiwan. I hope that through “innovation” and “increased investment,” we can regain a leading position in the next internet generation. The first generation of the internet, based on PCs, gradually took shape between 1990 and 1995. The second moved from PCs to mobile after Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007. Will the third generation of the internet be the metaverse? With the metaverse carrying people’s expectations for the next internet generation, Zuckerberg’s renaming of Facebook as Meta has officially raised the curtain on its opening act.