Children At Risk Of Being Recruited To Terrorist Organizations Online

As a consequence of leaving children for long periods with their mobile phones, malicious people are manipulating their weak souls to join the ideologies of violence, extremism, and others. Among the dangers posed by video games and mobile phones, one is the risk of suicide to many young people around the world due to harassment and abuse. These dangers have also reached Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf countries, Al-Qabas daily reported.

Only recently it was reported a person belonging to the terrorist organization ISIS communicated with a youth through an online program, and then brainwashed him to support the organization. This serious danger is a wake-up call to the danger of smartphones to young people, especially with parents failing to appropriately monitor their children.

Security statistics revealed that juvenile crime in Kuwait has increased by 150% in the past three years, and in addition, the cybercrime investigation has monitored several attempts by suspicious groups to attract teenagers and youth and urge them to adopt extremist ideas. A UN report revealed that about 58% members of terrorist organizations around the world are young people and adolescents as it is easy to manipulate and deceive them, especially in the Middle East.

Educational experts have warned, through Al Qabas, that children and adolescents spend long hours on video games which may isolate a child from his community and family surroundings, and thus become vulnerable to joining terrorist and other organizations, in addition to manifesting psychological and physical disorders.

Security sources revealed that the number of cases referred by the Juvenile Investigation Department of the General Department of Criminal Investigation to the Juvenile Prosecution Office during the past 3 years, 2017, 2018 and 2019, amounted to about 6380 various cases, committed by about 7000 juveniles, with 1880 cases during 2017, and 2,100 cases during 2018, and 2,400 cases during 2019.

According to sources, juvenile crime in Kuwait exceeds the global rate of juvenile crime by about 300 percent, while the total number of juvenile crimes has doubled in the past three years in the country by 150 percent.

Member of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights and Amnesty International Member Mishari Al-Sanad stressed the importance of combating extremist ideas and negative beliefs through counseling and awareness, pointing to the importance of tightening supervision, compelling parents to check up on their children, as well as continuous monitoring websites used by children.

Mona El-Yatty, the Addiction Treatment and Behavior Correction Consultant, emphasized that parental supervision of children is required at all times.

In a statement to Al-Qabas, she warned of the harm and dangers of using videogames, as well as spending long hours in front of screens without supervision from family, which has contributed greatly to some young people turning to deviant and extremist ideas, and pushing children to practice harmful behaviors. In addition, children focused for long periods on online programs suffer from negative psychological effects, which can lead to isolation from society. She stressed the need for parents to tighten their supervision and check their children’s behavior, noting the importance of building a bridge of communication between families and children to avoid them falling victim to criminals on social media sites, sharing their lives and instilling mutual trust between them and their family. She also pointed out that children who tend to isolate themselves suffer from psychological disorders in the aftermath.

 

SOURCE : TIMES KUWAIT

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