The insulated tribe of the Amazon conducted the Internet from Ilon Mask

They addicted to porn and laveled. Now their leaders are trying to solve this problem

The isolated Marubo tribe living in the jungle of the Amazon, in the fall of 2023 gained access to the satellite Internet Starlink. Since then, local teenagers discovered Instagram and communication on the network with strangers, and men - football. Some are addicted to porn, became lazy and more aggressive. "Cold" tells how the Internet influenced the isolated tribe.

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"Do not take our Internet"

The New York Times journalists visited the places where the Maroubo tribe lives. Now it has about two thousand people and lives in the villages along the Itei River in the depths of tropical forests in Brazil. For hundreds of years, people of this tribe led an isolated lifestyle: they spoke their own language, drank a Hallucinogenic Ajowascular drink to communicate with forest spirits and caught monkeys-coat, from which they prepared soup or kept them as pets.

In September 2023, local residents were connected to a high -speed Internet.

“When he appeared, everyone was happy. But now the situation has worsened, ”said the 73-year-old local resident of Tsainam Marubo (all the people of the tribe bear this surname). She complained that the youth became less interested in the manufacture of jewelry and laid out because of the Internet, where they "find out how the whites live." “But please do not take our Internet,” she added right there.

For nine months of using the Internet, the Marubo tribe has encountered the same problems as people around the world: adolescents are stuck in phones, group chats are full of gossip, and pornography and “cruel” video games have become available to minors.

Now the leaders of the tribe are concerned about how access to the Internet will affect identity and culture.

Fear the Danans, gifts bringing

One of the leaders of the Marouzo tribe, the 40-year-old Enok immediately appreciated the potential of Starlink. He lives in a city where he worked as a graphic designer in Coca-Cola, and in the forests of the Amazon. His father Sebastian also lived outside the forest, and returning, brought with him another new technology - a boat motor, which allowed him to reduce the duration of the trip to his fellow tribesmen.

In 2023, the Enoka Marubo and the Brazilian activist Flora Dutra recorded a 50-second video for potential philanthropists with a request to help them get Starlink. On the frames, Enoka sits in a hut in a traditional headdress of the tribe, and next to it is a child with a necklace of animal teeth.

A few days later, they received a response from the Harse Hallison Renault Oklahoma philanthropist. Eno asked 20 Anten Starlink, the cost of which would be about 15 thousand dollars. Renault acquired even more and volunteered to deliver equipment to the forests of the Amazon.

“One tool will change everything in their life: healthcare, education, and communication, and forest protection,” Renault said then.

Starlink on the pillar

In the villages, the antennas were nailed to pillars and connected to solar panels. According to Enok, the appearance of the Internet immediately produced a splash among local residents. “This changed the daily routine, which led to addictions. In our village, if you do not hunt, do not catch fish and do not grow plants, you don’t eat, ”Enoka remarked.

As a result, the leaders of the tribe decided to introduce restrictions on the use of the Internet - now it works only two hours in the morning, five hours in the evening and all day on Sunday.

When the Internet is included, representatives of the tribe, having buried in their phones, are located in hammocks or on benches. Ordinary residents spend a lot of time in WhatsApp, and the leaders of the villages through the Internet notify the country's authorities about the health problems of local residents or the environment. Teachers share lessons with local students. And everyone communicates with family members and friends who live far from them.

Village leaders are worried about several questions related to the Internet. In particular, they do not want the children to play cruel shooters or watch porn.

The leader of all the villages of Marubo Alfredo is concerned that young people share frank videos in group chats, although the culture of the tribe does not even approve of kisses in public. According to him, the leaders of other villages said that they had already observed aggressive sexual behavior from young people.

Meanwhile, Ellison Renault plans to conduct the Internet to other remote villages of the Amazon. She bought four more antennas, two of which were installed in the village of a small Corubo tribe, contact with which was first established only in 1996. Some members of the tribe still live in complete isolation.