There is a remote tribe called the Marubo in the rainforest of Brazil.

The tribe lives in the upper Amazon Basin, along the Ituí River. Beyond the Marubo, the tropical paradise is also home to as many as one million indigenous people that live on the natural resources of the rainforest, as their ancestors have done for thousands of years. Agriculture and hunting are survival skills that are taught to their children from an early age. Imagine the skill set these indigenous people have accumulated through the millenia, coexisting with the wild and managing the incredible biodiversity of the forest.

But then Elon Musk showed up with his Starlink technology and introduced the Marubo to high-speed internet. And guess what happened?

The kids in the tribe are glued to their phones. Many don’t want to hunt or fish anymore and some of the young men are sharing porn on WhatsApp. Of course, the legacy media is touting all the helpful aspects the internet has brought to the tribe, but really? Amazonian tribes have existed for thousands of years without watching TikTok videos. I’m sure they would have survived another few thousand. Many young tribe members say they want to leave the tribe now, and head off to the greater world so they can eat McDonalds food and play video games like everyone else their age. They must be tired of turtle soup.

The funny thing is, as much as the Marubo tribal leaders complain about the internet and what it’s doing to their youth, they’re very quick to insist that no one take it away. It’s not much different in America, where parents worry about their children’s cell phone usage, but are often addicted themselves.

Ah, dopamine. The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that cell phones and social media give our brain are actually destroying the way society works. Smartphones and the social media platforms they support are turning us into bona fide addicts. While it’s easy to dismiss this claim as being overly dramatic, platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram leverage the very same neural circuitry used by slot machines and cocaine to keep us using their products as much as possible. There’s actual science behind it.

Let’s face it. Our smartphones are hard to ignore. Studies are beginning to show links between smartphone usage and increased levels of anxiety and depression, poor sleep quality, and increased risk of car injury or death. And disconnecting from them seems to be difficult.

Most worrisome to education experts is how smartphones are causing problems in learning. Because our brains are like blobs of clay that can be easily molded, kids are having difficulty focusing on anything longer than 45-second sound bytes. They don’t venture outside much anymore, getting dopamine hits from climbing trees and skipping rocks in streams. Studies show children are spending less time with their families and they’re not reading books. The tech industry has admitted they intentionally design smartphone apps and social media to be used for long periods of time because that’s how they make more money.

Elementary and middle school years establish the foundation of your child’s academic success. Having a constant distraction like a smartphone prevents them from learning things like time management and how to tackle projects and homework.

Perhaps most alarming of all, results from a groundbreaking study reveal that MRI’s found significant differences in the brains of children who use smartphones more than seven hours a day. Another study showed the use of sleep time is reduced in children who have smartphones. Sleep disturbances in children are tied to obesity, weakened immune systems, and even stunted growth. And the pyscho-social ramifications are equally disturbing as we begin to realize children prefer their online relationships to spending time with their families. Studies have also shown the more kids use social media, the worse they feel about themselves.

Last week, my daughter gave each of her children $20 and arranged for a golf-cart taxi service to bring them to town in their small Florida enclave. They have just reached the age where she is encouraging them to venture out by themselves to get ice cream cones or window shop for an hour or two. She is concerned about their addiction to their phones and is trying to foster some independence.

Twenty minutes went by and they were ready to come home. They missed their video games.

I was at an event in Saratoga, N.Y. a few weeks ago and a family friend brought their two children along, around 8 and 10 years old. In the six hours we were there, the children sat on lawn chairs with a pair of headphones connected to their phones and rarely associated with our group of aunts, uncles and friends. I think that’s when the problem parents are facing really struck me.

A group, called “Wait Until 8th,” created by Silicone Valley executives (oh, the irony) is encouraging parents to wait until at least 8th grade to get their children smart phones.

In the meantime, try to regulate your children’s phone usage. You’ll be doing your children’s brain an important service.