Young people may be vulnerable to a range of risks as they pass through adolescence. They may be exposed to new influences and potentially risky behaviours, influence from peers, influence from older people, or the internet as they may begin to explore ideas and issues around their identity.
There is no single driver of radicalisation, nor is there a single journey to becoming radicalised. The internet creates more opportunities to become radicalised, since it’s a worldwide 24/7 medium that allows you to find and meet people who share and will reinforce your opinions. Research tells us that the internet and face-to-face communications work in tandem, with online activity allowing a continuous dialogue to take place.
Your child may actively search for content that is considered radical, or they could be persuaded to do so by others. Social media sites, like Facebook, Ask FM, and Twitter, can be used by extremists looking to identify, target, and contact young people. It’s easy to pretend to be someone else on the internet, so children can sometimes end up having conversations with people whose real identities they may not know, and who may encourage them to embrace extreme views and beliefs.
Often children will be asked to continue discussions, not via mainstream social media, but via platforms, such as Omegle. Moving the conversation to less mainstream platforms can give users a greater degree of anonymity and can be less easy to monitor.
People who encourage young people to do this are not always strangers. In many situations, they may already have met them, through their family or social activities, and then use the internet to build rapport with them. Sometimes children don’t realise that their beliefs have been shaped by others, and think that the person is their friend, mentor, boyfriend, or girlfriend and has their best interests at heart.
