Le Word of the Day: Internaute

The internaute (noun): French for someone who uses the internet.

As far as I am aware, the English language does not entertain a word which describes those who use the internet. We should have one. Not because anything the French can do we can do better, but simply because English is missing a very handy little word.

In French someone who watches la télévision is know as a téléspectateur.

Someone who uses the l'internet is a internaute.

In English, what do we call someone who watches the TV? A 'viewer'. A 'viewer' of what? That's right, it's a bit vague, isn't it? If you talk about a 'viewer' they could be referring to someone who is, indeed, watching the TV, but also they could equally be 'viewing' something else - a film, an exhibition, a house that's on the market. At least in French, when someone says 'téléspectateur' you know they're talking about a square-eyed goggle-box watcher.

So, as the French have cleverly devised a neat little word to describe an internet 'surfer'... what name could we come up with? A 'surfer' as a stand alone word is obviously a non-starter - if we begin calling them that without the prefix of 'internet' then we would end up talking about people who are more likely to be found donning wetsuits and paddling around in the sea, than people sitting at a desk, eyes riveted to a computer screen.

I propose either 'internetter', or 'inter-viewer', oh no hang on, that last one won't work. So, 'internetter' then? Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but is better than 'user' (which always sounds a lot to me like we should be talking about rehab centres and 'going clean'...IUA: Internet Users Anonymous). How about 'cyberite'? Certainly sounds a lot better, if a little futuristic, and it does have a nice ring to it after all.

Considering the number - the millions and millions - of people who use the internet, it's really surprising that no succinct collective name has been attributed to them yet. There could be a niche in the market for this: 'one word to describe millions' - surely that would be worth a few quid?

Rather irritatingly the French synonym of 'internaute' is 'cybernaute'. So, (to really rub salt into the wound) they have not one, but two, words for something that doesn't even exist in the English language. Now that really ain't right.