In today’s rapidly evolving digital transformation, digital literacy and its active implementation have become crucial to counter the risks posed by digital influences on young people, psychologically, mentally, and morally. Modern societies face unprecedented challenges due to the widespread use of modern video games, digital platforms, and films that carry messages and content potentially detrimental to youth minds, even steering them towards terrorist and criminal organisations. A major risk lies in the impact of violent digital content that affects behaviour, emotions, and cognitive abilities. This situation calls for a scientifically and philosophically informed digital educational strategy aimed at empowering youth to understand and confront this reality.
Digital influence comes from many sources and manifests negatively both individually and collectively. A recent international study published on The Australian website found a link between playing video games, especially those featuring “loot boxes”, and increased risks of gambling as well as related mental health issues. Researchers noted that purchasing these loot boxes can trigger anxiety, stress, depression, and impulsivity, factors common to other behavioural addictions, warning that children involved in buying them may later be prone to gambling problems. Similarly, a 2023 report by CyberSafeKids revealed that 65 per cent of Irish children aged 8 to 12 experienced external contact from strangers online, highlighting a lack of awareness and parental supervision regarding online safety. This deficiency raises the likelihood of children encountering harmful content or exploitation by dangerous groups.
Digital platforms and video games have also become easily exploitable tools for terrorist and criminal organisations to recruit and indoctrinate young minds. These groups use virtual spaces to interact with youth, influencing their ideas and behaviours through targeted content or direct interactions, thus facilitating the recruitment of minors. Such phenomena require both societal awareness and effective tools to monitor and combat them.
Furthermore, many young people, often referred to as the digital generation, rely on platforms like TikTok and YouTube as primary sources of information. This reliance exposes them to media misinformation and erroneous intellectual guidance. In this context, Jean Baudrillard’s notion of “virtual reality” becomes apparent, as the boundaries between truth and illusion blur, leaving youth vulnerable to both intentional and unintentional manipulation.
Smart algorithms on these platforms can promote extremist content; a study by Egypt’s Suez Canal University revealed that certain games and digital platforms broadcast ideas conflicting with societal and religious values. Additionally, research reported by Saudi’s Al-Mowaten electronic newspaper found that about 30 per cent of children playing online games experience bullying, which increases social isolation and anxiety, weakening social bonds and making individuals more susceptible to external influences, including recruitment by criminal groups.
Beyond the risks associated with video games, violent films or those depicting acts of terrorism can also instil unethical behaviours in young minds. A study published in PubMed found that excessive exposure to violent content correlates with higher rates of depression and aggressive behaviour among teenagers. Moreover, some films are indirectly used by extremist and criminal groups by portraying “heroic” characters from their ranks to sway viewers ideologically, stimulate emotions, and redirect their thinking. Similar tactics are seen in some songs, music or religious-themed chants that hide subliminal psychological messages promoting non-religious ideologies.
Many reports and studies indicate that terrorist groups recruit youth online, often using AI techniques to target those most addicted to digital platforms. In this context, the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci’s ideas on “cultural hegemony” intersect with the digital reality: the struggle to control collective consciousness is no longer limited to traditional tools but extends into virtual space, where narratives and beliefs are carefully crafted by specialised groups capable of infiltrating societies.
Given this frightening scenario, it is imperative to urgently activate robust measures to confront these challenges. This starts with effective digital education, especially within families and schools, through awareness, supervision, and curricula designed to develop digital literacy and necessary defences. There is also a need to enforce digital ethics, redefining digital responsibility and its risks. Drawing on Immanuel Kant’s philosophy, which emphasises duty over self-interest, governments, educational institutions, and families must work together to enhance digital awareness. Measures include restricting harmful content using AI algorithms, promoting critical education that trains youth to analyse digital content, and encouraging balanced digital usage with regulated screen time alongside cultural, social and sports programmes.
Only through a threefold alliance, governments enacting strict regulations on harmful digital practices, educational institutions incorporating critical digital literacy in curricula and families raising awareness and monitoring digital activities, can the digital realm be transformed from an ideological battleground into a positive space that enriches minds and benefits both individuals and society.
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