The 21st-century technology (mainly search engines)

The 21st-century technology (mainly search engines)

The 21st-century technology has not only increased access to information but has also improved how people form mass opinions about specific topics. The recruitment of extremists has therefore been made easy as people can quickly spread radical beliefs and convince innocent people on what they believe. More so, the technology offers an easy reporting of extremists` events hence motivating other extremists to continue with the spirit. Also, the technology has become bait for the ill-informed owing to the manner in which it spreads false information. Extremists take advantage of the situation to convince young people (mainly high school students) who have little knowledge pertaining to the extremist ideologies hence gaining a significant following.

The 21st-century technology (mainly search engines) has created a situation where most of the information is put in the public domain. Unfortunately, not all the information put online is valid and verifiable. Besides, typing a search item on a search engine retrieves information based on popularity as opposed to the verifiability. This implies that most people in the pre-radicalization stage have increased access to false information, which further fuels their initiation into extremists groups.

The social media, on the other hand, is a tool for extremist group membership and maintenance of a sustained impact for extremist activities. In addition to being the harbors of false information, social media platforms form the basis from which people can express their opinions about certain ideologies. Posts that go viral on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, for example, demonstrate that a majority of people are in support of a particular idea. In a case of political ideologies, for example, such posts can be used to form opinions for a specific group of people. More so, they attract the interest of other groups and can lead to violent actions, especially in cases where the social media posts have a direct impact on the large population. In the long run, different types of extremist groups attack in different regions as a display of unity towards attaining “liberation.”

Social media groups are also used as a show of loyalty towards certain extremist groups. Extremist groups use group chats and social media pages to communicate issues affecting their welfare as a group. It is from such groups that new members are directed to the physical places where they can be recruited. More so, such groups are also used to plan attacks and give instructions to members on what needs to be done on the day of the attack (e.g., the riffles to use, the clothing to wear, etc.).

Finally, technology in the form of videos and films and television plays ha come in handy in spreading extremist ideas. Movies featuring Islamist Jihadists, for example, have been used to cover the religious justification of the group while comedies featuring politics and human rights perpetrate political ideologies being considered as the basis of the formation of different extremist groups. Although such movies are not intended for such purposes, they indirectly play a role in influencing people`s perception towards. In some cases, they create a form of resentment that later pushes one to adopt radical ways.