Why are millennials prone to radicalism?

LIFESTYLE.OKEZONE.COM – A phrase saying that “the future of a nation is on the hands of the young generation” is quite familiar. This is why the millennial generation are said to play essential roles in building the nation.

In practices, however, the millennials face a lot of challenges due to the rising extremism and radicalism. Both ideologies are responsible in breeding intolerance, even terrorism acts, to the mindset of young generation.

Unfortunately, a number of research have found that the millennial generation are vulnerable to be exposed by radicalism. Shintya Rahmi, General Manager of Global Peace Foundation Indonesia, said that the fast-growing social media had become one of the factors that contributed to the spread of radicalism among young people. 

“Millennial generation want everything to be instant. Are there still any young people who do not use gadgets? They can find out everything from their gadgets. Research have shown that nowadays, gadgets and social media, such as YouTube and Instagram, have become their dominant sources of information. They no longer learn things from their teachers or textbooks,” Shintya told Okezone on Wednesday (20/2/2019) in the “To Believe and To Appreciate” Festival held at Thamrin 9, Central Jakarta.

Sinthya went on to say that the significant development of social media looked like a “fertile ground” for extreme and radical groups to disseminate their dangerous religious understandings to the young generation.

“In this digital era, all [information] is accessible. Kids nowadays cannot be far from YouTube. They always have their smartphones with them. Things are much easier now. As a consequence, radical groups misuse this situation. They know exactly how to take advantage of it,” Shintya said.