Nearly everyone in the modern digital era is interconnected, and now that Elon Musk’s Starlink has made it possible, even isolated tribes in the Amazon jungle have access to the World Wide Web. However, the Marubo people seem to be acquiring some of the contemporary vices as a result of their connection to the global community.
The chiefs of a remote tribe shared their perspectives on the problems posed by the internet. They have talked about how addiction to social media, exposure to pornography and falling for online frauds have affected people.
According to the New York Times (NYT), teenagers are snooping through social media feeds, watching football matches on streaming services and, of course, chatting on WhatsApp. They spend their evenings playing video games, including first-person shooters, on their phones.
The high-speed digital connection was made feasible by Starlink’s 2022 arrival in Brazil. SpaceX has utilised low-orbiting Starlink satellites to provide internet connectivity to rural regions worldwide.
Tsainama Marubo, 73, told NYT, “Everyone was happy when it arrived.”
For a long time, the Marubo people stayed in communal huts dispersed hundreds of kilometres along the Ituí River, deep within the Amazon rainforest.
They have their own language, use ayahuasca to communicate with forest spirits and catch spider monkeys to use as pets or for soup.
Their seclusion has allowed them to maintain their way of living for several hundred years.
With Starlink’s 2022 launch into Brazil, the biggest rainforest on Earth has been completely overtaken by the internet.
Clearly, the internet has been beneficial for things like emergency aid calls and video calls with loved ones who live far away.
However, Marubo told NYT, “But now, things have gotten worse.”
“Young people have gotten lazy because of the internet,” she said, adding that “They’re learning the ways of the white people.”
Although kissing and other public displays of affection are taboo in the tribe’s traditional culture, Alfredo Marubo, the head of a Marubo association of communities, claimed that a lot of lads had been exchanging sexually explicit videos in group conversations.
Alfredo told the news outlet that this was very different from the tribe’s more circumspect and traditional customs.
He further expressed concern that young people might want to give it a try.
He also voiced worries about the fact that individuals are using their phones more and talking to their families less.
Leaders decided to impose internet access restrictions as a result.
The internet is only available for two hours in the morning, five hours at night, and on Sundays.
However, the Marubo authorities do not intend to ban internet use in their villages.
They told the NYT that having access to the internet in an emergency is one of its main advantages.
Rather than having to repeatedly send radio signals in the event that a tribal member is bitten by a poisonous snake, they may now request a helicopter for an evacuation to the hospital.
Starlink helps the Marubo people keep in better contact with other surrounding neighbourhoods, warn one another about potential dangers and find fresh jobs and opportunities for education.
Many of the younger members of the Marubo tribe now hope to travel the world and work in cities outside of the rainforest.