DIGITAL LIFE

Starlink buries the original spirit of Burning Man once and for all

Burning Man isn't what it used to be—and now it may have been nailed in the coffin. The arrival of Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite network, has brought fast internet to the heart of the Nevada desert, and it's leaving festival veterans in shock. After all, how can you "disconnect from the world" if everyone is... online?

According to the Wall Street Journal, photographer Kevin LeVezu, a Burning Man regular, took his Starlink antenna to the iForgot campground, where he set up a Wi-Fi hotspot. The connection is "free," but at an unusual price: attendees had to choose between a shot of whiskey or a tap to access the network. Apparently, many people accepted the offer.

The presence of Starlink has exposed a shift in behavior that has been underway for years. In 2018, SFGate published a report showing that the magic of "disconnecting" in the desert was already threatened by the arrival of cell phone reception in the region. It was common to see people making FaceTime calls during the final ceremony or even hunting Pokémon on Pokémon Go.

Now, with satellite internet and high-speed connections, the original concept of isolation seems to have been completely abandoned.

Burning Man began in the 1980s with principles of radical inclusion, self-sufficiency, and self-expression. But this essence began to fade when Silicon Valley moguls discovered the event and began transforming it into a luxury festival.

Today, attending Burning Man can cost thousands of dollars. Beyond the hefty ticket prices, there's a veritable economic microcosm involving VIP tent rentals, luxury RVs, private chef services, and even private security. The philosophy of "decommodification" has been practically buried under dollars and antennas.

The connection between Silicon Valley and Burning Man has become explicit in recent years. Elon Musk himself has declared that "Burning Man is Silicon Valley." Billionaire Tyler Winklevoss described his experience at the event as "spiritual." Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, decided to go by helicopter—a detail that, in itself, completely contradicts the festival's spirit.

Irony of ironies: many of these billionaires, champions of "creative freedom" and "human connection," returned from the desert to run multi-billion-dollar companies that evict entire communities from their homes, exploit cheap labor, and degrade the environment.

Goodbye, Orgy Dome—and what was left of Burning Man...Even the festival's most eccentric icons are disappearing. The famous Orgy Dome, a legendary space for "sexual freedom" within Burning Man, was recently destroyed, and now what remained of the event's essence seems to have been lost forever.

The festival, which once symbolized breaking rules and creating an alternative community, has transformed into an Instagrammable event where the priority is keeping the feed updated—thanks, of course, to Starlink. 

The end of an era...With fast internet, expensive tickets, and billionaires monopolizing the scene, Burning Man is no longer that haven of freedom and disconnection. Now, it's just another sponsored spectacle, surrounded by antennas, cameras, and algorithms.

Perhaps the ultimate act of rebellion is...turning off the Wi-Fi.

mundophone