The remote Amazon tribe finally connects to the Internet – only to connect to porn, social media

An isolated Amazon tribe finally got online, thanks to Elon Musk – only to be torn apart by addiction to social media and pornography, elders complain.

Brazil’s 2,000-strong Marubo tribe has been bitterly divided since the arrival of the Tesla founder’s Starlink service nine months ago, which connected the remote rainforest community along the Ituí River to the grid for the first time.

“When it arrived, everyone was happy,” Tsainama Marubo, 73, told The New York Times. “But now things have worsened. Young people have become lazy because of the Internet, they are learning the ways of the white man.”

The Marubo are a chaste tribe who even frown when they kiss in public – but Alfredo Marubo (all Marubo use the same last name) said he is worried about the arrival of the service, which offers super-fast internet in remote corners of planet and has been described as a game changer by Musk, it could change the standards of decoration.

Alfredo said many Marubo youths have been sharing pornographic videos in group chats and he has already noticed more “sexually aggressive behavior” in some of them.

“We’re worried that young people will want to try it,” he said of the bizarre sex acts they’re suddenly exposed to on screen. “Everyone is so connected that sometimes they don’t even talk to their family.”

Starlink works by connecting antennas to 6,000 low-orbit satellites. The needed antennas were donated to the tribe by American entrepreneur Allyson Reneau.

Initially, the Internet was heralded as a positive for the remote tribe, which was able to quickly contact authorities for help with emergencies, including potentially fatal snakebites.

“It has already saved lives,” said Enoque Marubo, 40.

Members are also able to share educational resources with other Amazonian tribes and connect with friends and family who now live elsewhere.

It has also opened up a world of possibilities for young Marubo, some of whom have been unable to conceive of what lies beyond their immediate surroundings.

One teenager told The Times she now dreams of traveling the world, while another says she aspires to become a dentist in São Paulo.

However, Enoque also complained about significant weaknesses.

“It changed the routine so much it was harmful,” he said. “In the village, if you don’t hunt, fish and plant, you don’t eat.”

“Some young people preserve our traditions,” added TamaSay Marubo, 42. “Others just want to spend the whole afternoon on their phones.”

The tribesmen became so addicted that Marubo leaders, fearing that the history and culture – which is passed down orally – could be lost forever, have now restricted internet access to two hours each morning, five hours each evening and all day long. on sunday.

But parents still worry that the damage may already be done.

Another father, Kâipa Marubo, said he is anxious about his children playing violent first-person shooter games.

“I’m worried that they will suddenly want to imitate them,” he said.

Meanwhile, others say they have fallen victim to online scams due to their lack of digital literacy, while many young people are chatting with strangers on social media.

Flora Dutra, a Brazilian activist who works with indigenous tribes, was instrumental in helping connect Marubo to the Internet.

She believes that anxieties about the Internet are overblown and asserts that most tribal people “wanted and deserved” access to the World Wide Web.

However, some officials in Brazil have criticized the spread to remote communities, saying that distinctive cultures and customs may now be lost forever.

“That’s called ethnocentrism,” Dutra said of such criticism. “The white man who thinks he knows what’s best.”