“Digital hijacking”… 5 family gaps exploited by “networks of destructive ideas” to attract children emotionally

Specialists have warned against attempts to attract and lure young people by extremist parties, with the aim of joining their ideas or networks, stressing the importance of the role of the family, which is no longer limited to education, but rather extends to intellectual protection and awareness, and the establishment of internal immunity and “psychological immunity”, which protects children from being affected by destructive ideas, through dialogue, trust and sincere belonging to the homeland, given that every conscious family represents the first line of defense for the homeland in light of the regional events and rapid developments it is witnessing. The world.

They told “Emirates Today” that there are five common educational mistakes that may serve as gaps that push children to search for alternatives, including “the absence of dialogue within the family, excessive cruelty or domineering, belittling children’s feelings or ridiculing their ideas, constant comparison with others, and emotional neglect despite the availability of capabilities.” They also pointed to four categories that are considered the most vulnerable to polarization, which includes those who suffer from social isolation or social phobia, and those who have experienced repeated failures at work. Or life, and weak self-confidence, in addition to those who spend long hours on the Internet.

They identified six behavioral indicators that require early intervention, including “change in appearance and behavior, change in principles, ideas, beliefs, and belonging, intensity of discussions or complete withdrawal from dialogue with parents, change in daily routine, loss of relationships with friends, and change in the social environment.” They called on families to quickly seek help from the competent authorities, allowing timely intervention to protect and rescue their children, noting that extremist parties mostly rely on seven digital channels and methods, including “social media platforms, chat rooms, and games.” “Electronic messages, messaging applications, fake accounts, short clips, and closed groups,” and it usually begins with general emotional, humanitarian, or religious discourse, before graduating to intellectual isolation, incitement, and justification for violence or hatred.

Parliamentary question

In detail, a member of the Federal National Council, Mona Rashid Tahnoun, said that building intellectual and national awareness among children and youth represents the first line of defense to protect society, in light of the rapid developments and challenges the region is witnessing, indicating that she will work to study the issue, and discuss the possibility of submitting a parliamentary question, to strengthen the intellectual awareness system, and support national efforts in protecting youth.

She added: “There is a continuing need to launch national awareness initiatives and programs directed at children and adolescents, using modern methods and a language that is close to them, to enhance their awareness, consolidate their affiliation, and enable them to deal with changes with confidence and responsibility, and I see the importance of supporting this trend through legislative initiatives.”

Digital polarization methods

Cybersecurity expert, engineer Ahmed Al-Zarouni, warned of the development of digital polarization methods that have become more subtle and gradual, explaining that extremist groups do not begin by presenting their ideas directly, but rather infiltrate through content that appears entertaining or emotional through clips, “memes,” and influential stories, before gradually moving to content that arouses anger or sows doubts about national and religious constants.

He added that these parties exploit chat rooms within electronic games and encrypted messaging applications to move communication from public spaces to private conversations that are difficult to monitor, where what he described as the “virtual friend” begins to gain the individual’s trust before revealing his true goals.

He explained that digital algorithms play a pivotal role in enhancing exposure to extremist content, as they are designed to prolong the user’s stay on the platform, and learn from every click or view, saying: “When an individual shows a fleeting interest in certain content, the platform begins to feed him with similar and then more intense content, creating what is known as an (echo chamber) in which only the echo of his convictions is heard, and a balanced opinion is deprived, which leads the individual to move within a few weeks from general content to following content that carries destructive ideas, without searching. On his own behalf.”

He stressed that the best monitoring tool is a strong family relationship, not spying. He advised using tools such as “Family Link” from (Google) and “Screen Time” from (Apple) to manage usage time and permitted applications. Most major platforms also provide “teen account” settings that restrict communication with strangers and hide sensitive content, pointing out not to ignore channels that the state has blocked through VPN applications as they may expose the user to legal accountability.

True belonging

The founder and president of the “Women Support the Homeland” Association and member of the Board of Trustees of the National Commission for Human Rights, Dr. Amina Al-Majed, affirmed that love for the homeland is not taught, but rather lived, noting that a family that wants loyal children must transform the homeland from a mere “word” into daily behavior, by respecting the laws in front of the children, participating in national events, linking the children to stories of achievements and the values ​​of the founding fathers, and involving them in volunteer work.

She said that in light of an accelerating and open world, the role of the family is no longer just education, but rather it has become intellectual protection and awareness-building, noting that children today do not only need education, but also internal immunity built on dialogue, trust, and sincere belonging to this nation, stressing that every conscious family is the first line of defense for the nation.

She pointed out that the balance between protecting children and giving them space to think and be independent is the key to education in this era, explaining that the role of the school has now gone beyond academic education to building national identity and promoting conscious thinking through activities, curricula and educational models.

She warned of common educational mistakes that may push children to search for external alternatives, including “the absence of dialogue within the family, excessive cruelty or domineering, belittling children’s feelings or ridiculing their ideas, constant comparison with others, and emotional neglect despite the availability of all capabilities,” stressing that these mistakes may push children to seek containment outside the home, and they may find it in unsafe environments or ideas.

Psychological problems

Psychological consultant Lama Al-Safadi said that there are groups more vulnerable to being affected by extremist ideas, including “those who suffer from social isolation or social phobia, and young people who have experienced repeated failures at work or in life,” as they are easier to reach through temptation by any means.

She explained that children and adolescents most vulnerable to intellectual polarization are those who live in the absence of family support and emotional and psychological affiliation within the family, noting that the constant preoccupation of parents, the existence of separation between them, or children suffering from persecution and poor relationships with family and friends, are all factors that increase the possibility of being targeted, pointing out that weak self-confidence and difficulty communicating with others, in addition to spending long hours on the Internet, make the child or adolescent more likely to belong to virtual groups that he feels represent His world.

She emphasized that building “psychological immunity” in children to protect them from being influenced by destructive ideas begins with establishing a healthy relationship based on frankness, acceptance of mistakes, and continuous support, stressing the importance of deepening self-confidence, because a self-confident child or teenager is difficult to penetrate intellectually, in addition to establishing a friendly relationship that makes the family his compass and safe haven.

She explained that there are five main indicators that require early intervention, including “a change in appearance, behavior, principles, ideas, beliefs, and belonging, in addition to the unity of discussions or complete withdrawal from dialogue with the family, a change in the daily routine, the loss of relationships with friends, and a change in the social environment,” calling, if noticed, to seek help from official bodies, such as the “Al-Amin Service,” as this contributes to knowing the nature of the influences or sites to which the son is exposed, and to intervene in a timely manner, to save and protect the children.

Sanctions and containment

Lawyer Dr. Abdullah Al Nasser confirmed that the UAE deals with attempts at intellectual polarization and the spread of extremist ideas through a strict legal system, most notably the Anti-Terrorist Crimes Law, the Anti-Rumors and Cybercrimes Law, and the Children’s Rights Law. The law does not deal with extremism as a mere opinion, when it is linked to incitement, promotion, polarization, spreading hatred, or harming state security and societal peace, but rather establishes a clear legal responsibility for whoever promotes, publishes, or recirculates this type of content.

He said: “The responsibility of parents is based on care, control and guidance, especially if the son is a minor, and the guardian is not automatically responsible for every behavior issued by the son, but the responsibility may be if it is proven that there is clear negligence, or knowledge of the danger without intervention, or letting the child deal with suspicious content or accounts without any follow-up.”

He continued: “If the parents discover that one of their children has been subjected to recruitment attempts, the action should be calm and quick, starting with dialogue and understanding the source of the influence, then stopping communication with suspicious accounts or groups, while preserving the evidence without republishing it. After that, one must resort to the competent authority, whether the school, educational or security authorities, or child protection channels, depending on the seriousness of the situation. What is important is that the family deal with the matter as a case of protection and early rescue, not just as a punitive crisis.”

He explained that attempts at polarization usually begin with general emotional, humanitarian, or religious discourse, then graduate to intellectual isolation, incitement, and justification for violence or hatred.

He stressed that simply interacting or re-publishing suspicious content may expose a person to legal accountability if the matter goes beyond casual viewing, especially if the content harms security, national unity, or societal peace, saying: “Young people should avoid re-publishing any suspicious content, even out of curiosity, comment, or joking, because re-publishing may give the content exposure and put its owner under penalty of accountability.”

He added that the laws in the UAE contribute to achieving a balance between deterrence and prevention. On the one hand, the legislator has established strict penalties for promoting, incitement, polarization, or re-publishing extremist content, and among the most prominent relevant texts is Article 34 of Federal Law No. 7 of 2014 regarding combating terrorist crimes, and Articles 21 and 24 of Federal Decree Law No. 34 of 2021 regarding combating rumors and electronic crimes, and Articles 6, 7, and 11 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2023, regarding combating discrimination, hatred, and extremism. The penalty, in some forms of promoting terrorist organizations or recruiting members via websites or electronic accounts, reaches life imprisonment and a fine of not less than two million dirhams and not exceeding four million dirhams, and in some of the most serious terrorist crimes it may reach death or life imprisonment, depending on the nature of the act and its result.

He explained that, on the other hand, the philosophy of these laws is not limited to punishment only, but rather extends to prevention, rehabilitation and early intervention, as Article 21/3 of the Law on Combating Rumors and Electronic Crimes allows the court, in cases other than recidivism, to decide instead of punishment to place the accused in a counseling center or place him under electronic surveillance, and prevent him from using information technology means. Article 40 of the Law on Combating Terrorist Crimes also stipulates that anyone who poses a terrorist threat be placed in a counseling center by decision of the court.