Deep inside the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, there lies a tribe called Marubo belonging to the Javari Valley. They have kept themselves isolated for many years and have not allowed anyone to enter their territory. They have been successful in keeping their culture untouched by the outside world— this isolation was no accident but a deliberate choice made by the tribe to keep their rich traditions intact. Over the centuries, the Marubo people have defended their lands from intruders, waged wars to protect their way of life, and sustained a culture that is deeply embedded in their surroundings and ancestry.
But the onset of new technology changes everything. The Marubo people’s worst fear has become reality with the launch of Elon Musk’s Starlink, as reported by The New York Times; this satellite-based internet service from SpaceX now reaches them. The technological jump has brought the tribe online — and thus into the broader world — allowing them to be part of white culture (as they say) and forever altering their indigenous lifestyle.
Among the numerous adverse effects of this connectivity, exposure to porn is one that stands out as particularly alarming. It has seeped into the fabric of the tribe altering — irrevocably — centuries-old social norms and behaviors that once held the community together. But it’s not just adult content that is a cause for concern— teenagers are getting more and more engrossed in video games plus social media platforms. These diversions have contributed to attention spans becoming worse with each passing day: soon we may no longer recognize our own people due to lack of participation in traditional activities or fulfillment of responsibilities.
It is these transformations that trouble the elders of the Marubo community most. They observe that the youth are more involved in virtual worlds than their cultural legacy. The attraction of the internet plus many diversions imperils completely obliterating the Marubo society— to address loss of cultural identity and depletion of a communal spirit.
The effects of Starlink’s internet connection on their community serve as a sobering reminder of the complicated effects of technology on marginalized cultures as the Marubo struggle with these new difficulties. As the Marubo make their way through this unfamiliar area, one of their main concerns now is trying to strike a balance between traditional values and modern influences.
