Is the "THE" necessary?

[5jj]

It's going to take some getting used to, however.

If you have managed this far without it, I wouldn't worry too much.

I don't know why we all these differences are surfacing now. On the one hand, its a bit of a nuisance - one member will say one thing absolutely, only to have another member from the other side of the pond disagree a few minutes later. On the other hand, I find it very interesting, and we are all learning something new.