A remote Brazilian tribe deep in the Amazon rainforest was recently able to access the internet for the FIRST TIME EVER . . . thanks to the satellite Starlink service.
So are the people in the tribe spending hours every night researching philosophy and medicine? No . . . of course not. They’re internet-obsessed zombies just like YOUR kids.
And . . . like any parents . . . tribe leaders say they almost immediately had to institute time limits, or NOTHING would get done. One elder said, “In the village, if you don’t hunt, fish, and plant, you don’t eat.”
For starters, they’ve restricted internet access to: Two hours in the morning . . . five at night . . . and all day on Sunday.
So what are they doing on the internet? Exactly what you’d expect.
The tribe says they’re already dealing with: Group chats full of gossip . . . addictive social networks . . . abusive online strangers . . . hours and hours of sports streaming . . . violent video games . . . scams . . . misinformation . . . and minors watching pornography.
It isn’t ALL bad. (Just MOSTLY.) (???)
The internet DOES allow the tribe to chat with loved ones living far away . . . access educational opportunities . . . share their way of life with others . . . and it has saved lives in emergency situations.
Overall, there are mixed reviews. One leader said, “I think the internet will bring us much more benefit than harm . . . at least for now.”
But another said, “When it arrived, everyone was happy. But now, things have gotten worse. Young people have gotten lazy because of the internet.”
(By the way, a new study has found that teens can be diagnosed with internet addiction, which can disrupt the parts of the brain for controlling attention and working memory.)
