What leads to extremist tendencies in the youth?

KARACHI: Parents’ negligence, wrong company, availability of all kinds of information online, poor monitoring in educational institutes, and alleged mistreatment by law enforcement agencies including police..

These are some of the reasons which, according to psychologists, sow the seeds of extremism in the youth.

Tendency of some of the educated youth to turn towards extremism and terrorism presents a tough challenge to the parents of these individuals as well as law enforcement personnel.

Latest innovations in technology and communication, while facilitating people in their pursuit of education and knowledge, are, unfortunately, also corrupting the minds of some, becoming a means of fanning extremist and terrorist ideologies.

Extremist and terrorist groups, sometimes under the guise of religion and other times nationalism, ‘upload’ their propaganda on digital media, which anyone with a simple computer or smartphone can access with the touch of a finger.

Psychologist Dr Salman Shahzad, who teaches psychology at Karachi University, says a lot of processes are involved in a young person’s inclination towards terrorism, primarily the person’s environment at home, school, their social circle and the parents’ negligence.

According to experts, parents in most such cases do not pay attention to their child’s activities outside of home and educational institute, and fail to keep track of what their child has been up to.

Experts also stress that law enforcers in Pakistan do not enable a public-friendly environment due to which parents often hesitate to volunteer information about their children when needed.