Manoa Kamikamica has led the charge in government to sell the virtues of Elon Musk‘s Starlink in opening up more remote areas of Fiji to internet services. But what isn’t mentioned is the downside – the effect on isolated communities of suddenly being connected to the outside world and the sometimes negative impact of instant connectivity.
Here’s a story from the Telegraph UK about the impact of Starlink on a remote tribe in South America. The upside is a better connection to medical assistance. The downside is large numbers of villagers addicted to porn.
What is the Coalition government going to do about reducing the negative social impacts of instant connection to pornography and the general loss of innocence that comes when isolated communities suddenly join the “real world”?
You can bet they haven’t even thought about it. Yet given that the government’s resident anti-porn crusader – the Queen of Tarts, Lynda Tabuya – is such a expert on the subject, perhaps she can be designated Minister for Porn. Or is that anti-porn?
She’s already meant to be Co-Chair of an Anti-Porn Task Force that was announced with much fanfare back in January (see below) Does anyone know what that task force has achieved? Or perhaps it’s just been quietly shelved after the People’s Alliance disciplinary committee found the Great Temptress guilty of her sex antics with Aseri Radrodro in Room 233 and stripped her of the deputy leadership of the party.
Lynda Tabuya’s antics continue with her Chairing of Parliament’s Emoluments Committee and her astonishing attack on Biman Prasad. If Sitiveni Rabuka really wants to keep her in the ministry, it surely shouldn’t be as Minister for Women and Children given her raunchy past. Minister for Porn is just right. And maybe ship her off to somewhere really isolated where her glamour and the novelty of her presence will mean that her services are really appreciated.
Grubsheet’s report back in January about Lynda Tabuya being appointed Co-Chair of an Anti Pornography Task Force.
What have they achieved? Or was the idea quietly shelved?
When the going gets tough, the multimillionaire minister frocks up.
OMGGGGGG
Even before Starlink comes, teenaged boys and girls from nearby villages here are already skipping school, congregating and finding internet hotspots as they are now hooked onto Call of Duty video games. And when alone or when in just 2s or 3s, they switch to porn shows. Income from sasa and bu sales is used to top up their mobile phone data while their diet shifts more and more to dry noodles and processed foods. Forget the garden and waterways!
So more intense societal ills to come once Starlink is launched and running. Food for thought then for the PM, DPMs, iTaukei Affairs Minister, GCC Chair, and the list goes on. Isa o Viti!
Manoa Kamikamica has a lot to answer for. Being a medium level banker for most of his life, he only looks at the $ sign and the chance to rub shoulders with the rich and famous.
The thought of carrying out an impact analysis or cost benefit analysis is non existent with this Coalition government and MK is the biggest culprit.
If government is unable to be a guardian of our local culture but selling ourselves to the highest bidder, who else can we turn to?
You can’t get 100% of everything and yes there is down side to technology but when you look at technology’s impact in the past 25 years it has most been a positive one for the world economy.
Jus look at India, one of the reason why its has been on an economic roll is because it has been able to deliver technology into the hands of the rural people who have used it to enhance their economic lives, thus technology has been part of India’s massive 8% growth each year.
It’s not the Governments job to control how technology apart from ensuring laws are in place to deal with online bullying, abuse, sexual exploitation etc. is used so why is everything always viewed from such a negative angle?
Let’s face it GD , if it wasn’t for technology Grubsheeet would not have been able to reach your followers within minutes.
Sometimes your analysis is useless and yes as you have already said it’s not compulsory reading but at times you also need to be corrected.
If FFP would have been in power,this service would have gone to Radio Tarana (Wailesi)
You can guess what the cost would have been then.
If you live remotely but now can talk to and watch the world in sync, that is a good thing, right? If the kids watch porn, whose kids are they? Stop blaming childrens’ sad behaviour on the world parents!! God did not supervise Adam well at Eden and th e demon got to him.
Technology is never neutral. There will always be winners and losers. You can’t compare Fiji to India: two different countries and two different cultures.
Govt needs to assess both the negative and the positives of technology, and ensure the benefits are quantified and outweigh the negatives. Then government needs to make rules to support the positives and address the negatives. But this is not being done.
Taukei kids jamming internet cafes during and after school playing violent video games u supervised is one such negatives, but nothing is being done to correct this.
What GD wrote is valid. It’s for government to take that extra step which is not happening.
This is a horse that bolted a long time ago virtually everywhere in Fiji. An example would be Northern Vanua Levu,where the roads are sketchy,but the internet and Facebook addiction and everything else have been going strong now for years. I know an old guy from Dogotuki who lived in a mobile reception dead spot,under a mountain,on a river with cliffs in his immediate area,but somehow,he had found one spot under an overhanging ledge,where he could step out of his punt,and sit on a particular rock,facing a particular direction…toso va’a kisi i yasana mawi..gori! 2bars! His feet in the water.
Yes, I agree Fiji is not ready for new technology and ‘vulagi’ things. Their brains are not yet that developed. Just look at the abuse of drugs now. Another year and it is going to be a complete disaster. Fijians cannot think about tomorrow, they live in the here and now. And all that bible bashing – that is just for show. They do not get the message at all. I do not blame them because the message is rubbish anyway. That is a vulagi thing as well and they are not ready for that either. All of these things are vulagi things and not compatible with Fiji and Fijians. Fijians are unique and very special.
Isn’t freedom of speech a wonderful thing?
Thanks for your informative news . Why is Fiji so pro Israel? I have been away too long and I don’t get it , Please enlighten me if you have some time
Why are Fijians so pro Israel? It is a new phenomenon really. They now have an identity crisis.
They are no longer sure whether they are Christians or Israelites. But they are now the long lost Tribe from Jerusalem. They were eating each other only 150 years ago and suddenly they are the long Lost Tribe from Israel. The transformation is f*cking amazing, and they really do believe it. Just ask Viliame Gavoka. They believe they have a very similar history to the Israelites. They are now the chosen people. I have always said, Fijians and Fiji are unique and special. That is why they support Israel. I have seen them flying the Israeli flag on many ocassions, especially when they were in opposition.
They even celebrate the Feast of the Terbanacle which is an Israeli holiday.
I read a report that the Jewish people spat on Christians who came to the Feast so they were not really welcome, but the Israelites of Fiji were welcomed apparently, even though they could not wait to get out when the Gaza war started. So they really did not want to stay in their ‘homeland” to protect it when the bullets start flying. Self-serving hypocrites in my opinion. But the Israeli racism and apartheid characteristics do seem to have rubbed off on them. They do have an issue those who are not Israelites. And they are first class wankers.
Hopefully this explains why they are pro Israel.
The parents need to talk to the kids about sex, not give the kids phones and then blame pornography. Why is sex such a taboo subject for parents, teachers and church? Be open about it, we all do it.
The ill effects of internet access by the Amazonian tribe highlighted in the article has already affected about 70% of Fijis population that has internet access now.
There is internet addiction where people spend most of their time on social media like countless hours on facebook, tik tok, twitter (X), games and of course on porn.
Starlink will only complete access to the outer islands and remote areas currently with no connectivity.
Of more concern is who will be paying for this access to these remote areas. Starlink kits in Australia cost $600 (FJD1000) and monthly fee of AUD140 (FJD$200). This will have a huge impact to the pockets of the people and economies of these places and i believe the cost will far outweigh the benefits.
There will be instant lost of productivity when the people become addicted to the internet.
Its akin to daytime TV addiction in the early 2000s in Fiji when stay at home housewives were so addicted to some Philippine and Korean soap opera that used to air on daytime TV that they forgot to cook dinner for the family. That created a lot of domestic issues. There were even stories of people praying for the characters of the shows during prayers sessions.
In addition, of more serious concern is Semi Tukana the ethnonationalist extremist pushing govt to fast track Starlink accessibility to these remote places so he can get more people to use his Sole app which he claims is the saviour of the Fijian people in terms of financial literacy. Of course he is just lining his pockets.
While there is no doubt of the countless benefits of internet access in general and more so for remote areas in terms of communications and learning, government and parents need to do a better job in educating the people on internet usage. This is something we dont do very well in accepting new technology and new ideas. Lack of education on pros and cons.
For this reason, Fiji ranks high on porn usage.
No they can share our Minister of Bonkings photos to the islands too.