This is such a fascinating take on this article, Katherine. Reading this story made me feel ill, and I'm not sure I would have noticed the hypocrisy of the comment section if you hadn't pointed it out. When we see smartphones introduced to this foreign culture, we recognize how damaging it will be; even though they've taken over and destroyed our own culture, we don't see any other way. I feel helpless about the internet and smartphones--mostly from the way that they previously took over my life--and your blog gives me a regular dose of hope that someone out there is trying to change this trend!
I’m curious about the role the donor played in providing internet. Was it super expensive to get internet to the remote region, or do the people just not have the disposable income to pay for it? If they live a subsistence lifestyle by hunting, fishing, and farming, then the cost of internet and smartphones might be one of their largest expenses. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of having an internet connection and a smartphone as a basic right before. Maybe some of the villagers will be able to gain extra income with their internet access, as many of us do, but what good will that be if it still takes weeks to get food or medicine from a store? The flip side is that they get to live in a remote region, and they know how to live off the land, which many of us privileged people also dream of doing. And I suspect the key to that is to have very few overhead expenses, like starlink (pun not originally intended).
This is such a fascinating take on this article, Katherine. Reading this story made me feel ill, and I'm not sure I would have noticed the hypocrisy of the comment section if you hadn't pointed it out. When we see smartphones introduced to this foreign culture, we recognize how damaging it will be; even though they've taken over and destroyed our own culture, we don't see any other way. I feel helpless about the internet and smartphones--mostly from the way that they previously took over my life--and your blog gives me a regular dose of hope that someone out there is trying to change this trend!
I’m curious about the role the donor played in providing internet. Was it super expensive to get internet to the remote region, or do the people just not have the disposable income to pay for it? If they live a subsistence lifestyle by hunting, fishing, and farming, then the cost of internet and smartphones might be one of their largest expenses. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of having an internet connection and a smartphone as a basic right before. Maybe some of the villagers will be able to gain extra income with their internet access, as many of us do, but what good will that be if it still takes weeks to get food or medicine from a store? The flip side is that they get to live in a remote region, and they know how to live off the land, which many of us privileged people also dream of doing. And I suspect the key to that is to have very few overhead expenses, like starlink (pun not originally intended).