A remote tribe was given the internet for the first time – here’s how it’s gone

The Marubo people receiving Starlink antennas last year, connecting them to high-speed internet
(Picture: Flora Dutra/NAVI global)

In September last year, a remote Brazilian tribe received high-speed internet for the first time.

The Marubo people live in one of the most isolated spots on the planet and although they have contact with the outside world, the tribe has preserved a traditional way of life for centuries.

They sleep in communal huts along the Ituí River, hunt and grow their own food, talk their own language and until recently have not had access to the internet.

But Elon Musk’s satellite-internet service, Starlink, which he launched in Brazil in 2022, has changed this.

It reached the 2,000-strong Marubo community nine months ago, after several tribesmen walked for days through the thick rainforest, each with two antennas on their backs.

Recently, The New York Times paid a visit to find out what kind of impact the internet has had on the tribe.

When they arrived the team spotted teenagers scrolling Instagram, a man texting his girlfriend and a group of men crowded around a phone streaming a football match.

It’s a familiar scene around the world – but not deep in the Amazon rainforest.

Asked if the change has been a positive one, villager Tsainama Marubo, 73, said: ‘When it arrived, everyone was happy. But now, things have gotten worse,

‘Young people have gotten lazy because of the internet,’ she explained. ‘They’re learning the ways of the white people.’

Many of the tribespeople did speak of the benefits the internet has brought, including the ability to chat with loved ones living far away, educational opportunities and the possibility of sharing their way of life with others.

It’s also saved lives. Before Starlink, when there was an emergency the Marubo used amateur radio to send a message via several villages, which would eventually reach authorities.

The antennas have been attached to posts in the villages (Picture: Flora Dutra/NAVI global)

The Marubo tribe have preserved their traditions for many centuries (Picture: Flora Dutra/NAVI global)

Now if someone has been bitten by a snake, for example, a quick call on a mobile can mean a speedy helicopter rescue.

But many Marubo people acknowledge the internet has brought with it a fair share of problems.

Marubo leader, Enoque Marubo (all Marubo use the same surname), 40, who was instrumental in bringing Starlink to his people, said a big issue in the early days was people not hunting and growing food because they were stuck on their phone.

He said: ‘In the village, if you don’t hunt, fish and plant, you don’t eat.’

A tribesman preparing a post for an antenna (Picture: Flora Dutra/NAVI global)

The Marubo villages lie deep in the Amazon rainforest (Picture: Getty Images)

This was to some extent solved by ensuring the internet is now only switched on for two hours in the morning, five hours in the evening and all day Sunday.

But other issues have been more difficult to tackle, such as scams, violent video games, graphic pornography, addictive social media scrolling, abusive online strangers and gossiping group chats.

It’s stuff many of us have been dealing with for years, but for most of the world it’s been a relatively gradual change, whereas for the Marubo people and other Amazon tribes who have recently received high-speed internet it’s all come at once.

The community said internet has brought with it both good things and bad (Picture: Flora Dutra/NAVI global)

Alfredo Marubo, leader of a Marubo association of villages, said pornography – especially videos of graphic sex – was a particular worry.

Some leaders had told him they’d already observed more aggressive sexual behaviour from young men.

Despite the problems, however, most tribespeople who spoke to The New York Times had no wish for the internet to be taken away from them.

‘I think the internet will bring us much more benefit than harm,’ Enoque said, ‘at least for now.’

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