"We can't live without the internet." Five Bars A remote tribe in the Amazon rainforest is getting to experience the wonders of the internet for the first time, thanks to Elon Musk's satellite network Starlink . But, by connecting to the rest of the world, it sounds like the Marubo people are beginning to pick up some of our modern bad habits.
The New York Times reports on what may sound a bit familiar: young people poring over social media feeds, streaming soccer games, and of course, gossiping over WhatsApp. Evenings are spent lounging around on their phones and playing first-person shooters and other video games. "When it arrived, everyone was happy," said Tsainama Marubo, 73.
"But now, things have gotten worse." Some of the young men are especially getting a kick out of it. Alfredo Marubo, a leader of an association of the tribe's villages, lamented that the boys, now with their own group chats, were sharing porn and other explicit videos — which is unprecedented in their culture that considers kissing in public taboo.
"We're worried young people are going to want to try it," Alfredo told the NYT , referring to what they see in porn. Culture Rot The Marubo have been using Starlink since September, after an American woman bought them some antennas to connect to the satellite network. Now, some in the tribe fear that the internet poses an existential threat to their culture.
Young people kill time by fiddling with their smartphones instead of socializing the old-fashioned.
