A surprising wave of protests has erupted in Cuba, led by university students, teenagers, and young professionals, leaving many older adults puzzled. These young Cubans have taken to the streets, campuses, and even social media platforms—while they still can—to voice their outrage: ETECSA's exorbitant price hikes are unacceptable. The reasons behind these generational protests might not be immediately clear to everyone. Some question why these young people aren't demonstrating against hunger, power outages, or repression, but instead are rallying for the Internet.
The explanation is simple yet profound: they've been deprived of everything. For teenagers today, losing Internet access is the ultimate punishment. It is the tool parents use to motivate them to clean their rooms, do their homework, or go to bed without protest. Even the threat of being offline for a few hours feels like a descent into chaos—or as if they've been sent to Cuba, which feels like the same thing for them. Their lives are increasingly intertwined with the digital world, and removing it is akin to taking away their air supply. This sentiment is now shared by students, young adults, and indeed, all Cubans.
The Internet: A Lifeline for Cuban Youth
Those born in Cuba between 2000 and 2010, now university students, have grown up in a world where the Internet became their only window to the real world. With the introduction of mobile Internet in Cuba in 2018, these youths began shaping their identities, relationships, dreams, and even political views through the intermittent mobile data accessible on their low-end smartphones.
Today, the Internet in Cuba represents far more than just entertainment. It is an escape, a source of relief, a means of resistance, education, and a refuge. It serves as their classroom, their street, their distant family, their access to books, memes, causes, unfiltered news, and professions absent from state plans. Above all, it is a limited but vital form of freedom, despite being monitored and scarce.
Generational Divide: Understanding the Digital Necessity
Adults who matured in a world devoid of social media, Google, YouTube, online classes, or collaborative platforms may struggle to grasp that for today's generation, Internet access is not a luxury but a basic necessity. Being offline means being cut off from information, unable to express opinions, engage in debates, create, or even understand one's own feelings.
Globally, young people overwhelmingly view Internet access as a fundamental right. Denying it is akin to shutting down schools, libraries, or confining them to their homes. Why should it be any different for Cubans?
For adolescents, social media platforms are essential for maintaining personal relationships. Young people, integrated digitally, rely on networks like WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, or Telegram for social interaction. Cutting off this access could lead to anxiety, sadness, frustration, and a sense of exclusion.
The Economic Impact of Connectivity
Beyond personal connections, the Internet is crucial for Cuba's burgeoning digital economy and creative enterprises. A World Bank report from 2021 highlights the digital economy as the fastest path to youth social mobility in resource-limited countries. Many young Cubans utilize the Internet to work as freelancers, sell products, learn skills, seek scholarships, find jobs, or monetize content.
It's no coincidence that this specific generation—urban, connected, and critical—is reacting so strongly. They understand that educational reform is impossible without connectivity, that inclusion requires access, and that digital voices are essential for citizenship. They don't fight for Internet access just to watch videos (though they do that too); they fight because it is their only means of existing with dignity in a country that offers them increasingly less.
In every young voice raised in protest, there is a story of dreams deferred, careers disrupted, friendships fractured by distance, anxiety, pent-up anger, nights without electricity, and scarce food. Yet, there is also the Internet as their sole lifeline.
Cuban youth also protest against hunger, lack of electricity, blackouts, limited opportunities, and repression, but they do so using the language they know: the language of social networks. They organize via Facebook, find inspiration on TikTok, share evidence through WhatsApp, and make their voices heard on X (formerly Twitter).
Taking away their Internet access is tantamount to stripping them of their ability to protest against all these issues.
Understanding the Impact of Internet Restrictions in Cuba
Why are young Cubans protesting against ETECSA?
Young Cubans are protesting against ETECSA due to the unaffordable price hikes on Internet services, which they see as a vital necessity for their education, social interaction, and even survival in a digitally connected world.
How does the Internet play a role in the lives of Cuban youth?
For Cuban youth, the Internet is not just for entertainment but a crucial tool for education, a means of connecting with the outside world, a platform for economic opportunities, and a way to express their voices and participate in social movements.
Why do older generations struggle to understand the protests?
Older generations may find it difficult to comprehend the protests because they grew up without the Internet and may not perceive it as a fundamental necessity for communication, information, and daily life, as younger people do.