By: Muhammad Yasin)*
Radical ideas are increasingly spreading, especially via social media, because radical groups already know that social media has many users and they target the younger generation who like to play social media. The public must be aware of the spread of radicalism via social media and not to be dragged into the wrong social flow.
Indonesian people are the top 5 internet users worldwide. The cheapness of Android cellphones and easy-to-get starter cards has made many people access various sites via gadgets, including social media. It’s as if you don’t have slang if you don’t have an Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, Facebook, etc. account.
However, there is a danger that lurks when the ease of access to social media makes many Indonesian citizens go crazy, because social media is also used by bad people. Radical groups have started to explore social media to attract new cadres, because they know that the younger generation likes to hang out on Instagram. They no longer use old methods such as seminars or radical book distribution.
The Head of Sub-Directorate for Counter Ideology Prevented Densus 88 AT Polri Kombes Pol Ponco Ardani stated that radicalism had spread on social media. Even now, social media is very open. In the sense that in social media there is liberalism so that there are not only good people but also those with bad intentions like radical groups.
The entry of radical groups on social media shows that they have followed the times, so they can recruit more new cadres from the younger generation. They really need the young people because they usually need recognition and find their identity, so they can be brainwashed and then driven to the wrong path, aka radicalism and terrorism.
If the younger generation has been poisoned by radicalism obtained via social media, it is very dangerous because they are future leaders of the nation. Don’t let Indonesia’s future be ruined because its leaders have been poisoned by radicalism and terrorism. We certainly don’t want the fate of Syria and Afghanistan, right?
Kombes Pol Ponco Ardani added that apart from young people, radical groups also target children on social media. In a sense, even though on Facebook or Twitter, the rule is that users are at least 17 years old, it turns out that they can be tricked by being older. So many children who are still in junior high school and even elementary school who like to play tiktok and facebook.
Even though this minimum age rule is enforced because if you are 17 years old, you are considered an adult and the logic has worked. However, when there are children who fake their age to play tiktok (to make it look slang) then there is a danger that lurks, namely being targeted by radical groups.
Radical groups can brand themselves with attractive pictures and videos but in the end it is recruitment, betrayal, and brainwashing. This is what we must be aware of because children usually have their own cellphones and have fun watching. They do not know at all that radicalism is dangerous.
For prevention, parents must be active and should not ignore children playing gadgets. First, if they are under 12 years old, don’t buy their own cellphone. Second, even if you are in junior high school and have a cellphone, you can secretly check your history to find out what you saw, and don’t even watch jihad videos and other radicalism content.
Meanwhile, thirdly, they must be informed of the dangers of radicalism from an early age, of course by adjusting the children’s language style and understanding slowly. They will know what radical groups are, what jihad is, why there should be no bombings, etc.
The rise of radicalism on social media makes us have to be more vigilant because radical groups target millennials to small children. As parents, they must instill early on the dangers of radicalism to their children, so they can understand not to be influenced by radicalism on social media.
)* The author is a contributor to the Pertiwi Institute
