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Parents, your children may be within reach of hate groups

2019-10-24T03:46:40.472Z


[OPINION] Psychologist Peggy Drexler explains why teenagers in the US They are vulnerable targets of hate groups.


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Editor's Note: Peggy Drexler is a research psychologist and author of "Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers, and the Changing American Family" and "Raising Boys Without Men." He is currently working on another book on how women are conditioned to compete with each other and what to do about it. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author.

(CNN) - Joanna Schroeder is the mother of three children in Los Angeles and has the task of warning parents of racism that circulates in social networks and the way in which white supremacists are using this means to “recruit” young boys . For some, their point of view may seem alarmist: Joanna points to the word "provoked" as one of the expressions normally used by the Nazis to make fun of how these days everyone is "too sensitive", although it is a word also used frequently by psychotherapists in the legitimate field of consultations, and of course, most of the boys are not radicalized.

But still, your worries are not unfounded.

Cyber ​​racism - often described as "cyber hate" - is real and increasingly common. The Internet is a very effective means for groups with any type of agenda - subversive or not - to target and instruct vulnerable audiences and young adolescents form a particularly susceptible group. We know that the brain of a teenager is very different from the brain of an adult, this is why adolescents often develop dangerous and challenging behavior. They have unprotected sex, send text messages while driving; Is it then exaggerated to think that they can easily adopt racist attitudes or language without fully considering its consequences?

Put simply, it is not. An analysis conducted in 2018 after 10 years of research on cyberbullying cites several examples of young, male individuals - most of them between the ages of 14 and 30 - who have been radicalized into white supremacist movements. The researchers analyzed the ways in which far-right groups look for ways to reach these young people, including the distribution of interactive games and links to music videos to their websites and the use of a sense of humor.

In addition, it can be easy for parents of these teenagers to be indifferent when their children use questionable, or even offensive, language between them. Expressions like boys are boys, and others similar.

But now more than ever, words are relevant, especially among those who are still learning the difference between what is fun and what is not, something that practically applies to every teenager. There is a difference between throwing an insult to a "friend" and throwing a racist nickname, even in a joke. Adults know this. But teenagers are forming their personalities and opinions, while also trying to be accepted by their colleagues; They constantly test themselves and each other. You cannot count on them reliably to distinguish between what is fun and what is offensive, even among those who are considered "good guys" and who know the difference between those who are right and wrong. For example, they may know that "Hitler is bad" but they may not have the knowledge about the nuance that is needed to understand that any reference to Hitler is never funny, even when it comes to black humor, even when others are laughing

Males, in particular, are programmed to impress each other, which may involve the use, use of behavior and language with which they cannot feel at ease, and whose meaning is not even known. (The girls, on the other hand, are programmed to impress each other, but also to impress the boys). It is a demographic sector that is always thinking about the next joke, and they know that when all else fails, a shocking comment usually works. They can go to the limit or laugh even when they think something is not fun. No boy wants to be the only one who doesn't understand a joke.

This is precisely what makes them vulnerable targets.

What are parents supposed to do about it? If there is something we already know is that teenagers spend too much time on their phones, about nine hours a day, according to Common Sense Media, even teenagers agree that it is too long. But even if parents limit the time their children can spend in front of their electronic devices, it is almost impossible to control each of their movements on social networks. There is too much to see. More than 95,000 million photos and videos are shared every day on Instagram; The biggest demographic of applications are young adults between the ages of 18 and 24.

That is why it is essential that parents review the social accounts of adolescents and their activities together with the boy or girl, and talk with them not only about the people they follow, but how they assimilate that information. What do these teenagers think about it? What do you like to read and see ... and do you believe everything found on the networks? It is imperative to pay attention to how they talk to their friends (or read their texts) and claim them when they use language that is not correct.

We must talk about the dangers of surfing the networks irrationally and how passive information consumption corresponds to high levels of depression.

The truth is that most young people do not seek to be radicalized on the Internet or seek to become racist. But even if there is no such intention, that does not mean that they are not in danger. Most teenagers are not bad boys. But they are still teenagers and the more they see, hear and use this type of language, the easier it will be to become something normal and the harder it will be to amend it.

hate groups

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2019-10-24

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