Is Elon Musk’s Starlink and the internet morally neutral?

Let’s face it. You can’t do anything without the internet. I fully acknowledge the irony at play here. You are reading an article about the internet, on the internet. It’s all deeply meta and requires much more consideration than just one article can provide.

Yet one other recent story, published in The Telegraph about the chilling consequences of Elon Musk’s internet service, Starlink being brought to a remote tribe in Brazil, has caused me to go down a different type of Internet wormhole; is the Internet a moral neutral?

The Internet is a vast, ever-encroaching behemoth for those of us in the West. From our entertainment to our banking, life increasingly depends on it. It is heralded as progress, connection and knowledge. It is an unspoken given that the technology in and of itself is neutral ethically.

Starlink intended to connect the tribe with distant relatives and provide access to life-saving information.

As I delved into this line of thought, I was unsettled to discover how quickly the thread of that premise unravels once you start tugging. Starlink intended to connect the tribe with distant relatives and provide access to life-saving information.

However, once exposed to this “advancement” of human existence, this remote community almost immediately experienced damaging natural consequences, with teenagers and young men getting hooked on porn and withdrawing from the traditions of their culture.

What was meant as a communication and connection tool for this tribe, backfired into an isolating and lustful outlet.

What was meant as a communication and connection tool for this tribe, backfired into an isolating and lustful outlet. To any Bible-believing Christian, this can only be evidence of the fact of the biblical truth that “evil lies at the heart of man.” (Mark 7:210) and “the heart is deceitful above all things.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

If we know that the heart of fallen humanity is bent on evil, perhaps we should not be surprised at the speed at which this tribe discovered the dark side of the web. Arguably it was not the technology that was morally problematic, but the flawed individuals utilising it. What troubles me, however, is this technology that by its very design, makes sin easy. It is designed to steal your focus, to keep you on platforms, to study your data and fixate you on things that ultimately add no value to your life.

I am no authority to suggest the moral status of something so increasingly worldwide as the internet, but the facts are that mental health issues among teenagers is on the rise, thanks to social media. The surgeon general of the USA recently called for warning labels to be put on social media and now a Brazilian tribe has knowledge and access to porn.

When more and more people are isolated rather than connected, when the Internet is evidently having the opposite result to its so-called “purpose”, it might just be important to question its virtue. For all the progress the internet has afforded, what has it done to the emotional, mental and spiritual morality of the world? If the Bible is true, and man’s “feet rush into sin…they only think about sinning.” (Isaiah 59:7), can a technology that brings you to sin in 200MBps really be considered morally neutral?

Examine your internet use. It might not be a full-blown obvious evil you indulge in, but the Internet’s theft of your time, attention and devotion might just be a moral failing. Consider ways you might manage your internet interaction. Developing practices like taking a digital Sabbath, a full 24 hours once a week without social media, can go a long way to decreasing our internet dependence. Other things like putting your phone in grayscale, or setting time limits on your social media will ultimately only benefit you. I would also recommend listening to this podcast from Jon Tyson of Church of the City, on Jesus as the Bread of Life. Find ways to feast on Jesus, rather than the ultimately disappointing nourishment of the internet.

You are told it adds value. Does it?