Terror Groups, Media, and Social Learning Theory

Table of Contents

Abstract 3

Introduction 4

Discussion 4

Future Implications 7

References 9

Abstract

Terror groups are thriving thanks in no small part to the rise of social media, which allows these groups to propagate their message instantly and universally. Impressionable young people are often recruited via social media because their own real-world society offers them nothing of any significance to believe in or to embrace. The radical ideologies of terror groups become far more attractive because they fill a hole in the lives of the young and because these groups are capable of forming relationships with them. This paper examines how social learning theory explains the issue of terrorisms spread in the modern world.

Introduction

The main idea of social learning theory is that individuals are socialized to embrace or believe in the values and standards of their society (Grusec, 2006). As Bandura (2018) points out, the main ways in which socialization occurs is by way of interaction with peers, groups and media. The main assumptions of social learning theory can be used to explain why different societies and groups develop and thrive in a given environment. This paper will examine and explain how terror groups have been able to thrive in modern day society by applying the principles of social learning theory to the topic.

Discussion

Terror groups are growing rapidly around the world, with extremist organizations developing networks and cells using an informal structure and social media campaigns to advance their causes and increase their visibility (DeCook, 2018). Groups like Antifa and Proud Boys are just two examples of domestic groups that have been linked to terrorist activities by the US government, but there are many other groups, such as ISIS, that have used technology to propagate their aims and attract attention from young people who have no direction in their own lives (Vitolo-Haddad, 2019).

Social learning theory provides an explanation for how these groups have been able to grow and thrive in the modern world (Mills, Freilich, Chermak, Holt & LaFree, 2019). One of the ways that researchers have found terrorists use to lure individuals into their groups is social media (Chatfield, Reddick & Brajawidagda, 2015; Costello & Hawdon, 2018). Social media is a particularly useful way for information to be spread across the world, and it allows terror cells to attract lone wolves who might otherwise never really find a group to call their own. However, social media amplifies the presence and existence of groups, from domestic terror groups to foreign terror groups (Klein, 2019). It gives people a way to identify messages and messengers and develop a sense of identity based on the things they are seeing said on social media platforms to which they belong.

Extremist views, either to the left or to the right, tend to be the proximal mode by which ones environment is transformed. First, one is exposed to such views via media, peers and groups, as Bandura (2018) shows. Then one becomes radicalized and willing to join a group so as to serve that group and its ideology. That is essentially the process by which terror groups thrive, and social media plays a big part in the process because it serves as the platform for interaction, cultivation and recruitment. Without social media it would be a lot harder for terror groups to get out their message and connect with potential new recruits (Chatfield ete al., 2015).

The essence of social learning theory applied to this understanding is that individuals learn to embrace extremist views because they are living in a radicalized world where extremist ideologies can permeate all environments via social media, which in turn affects...

…leveled and questions are only asked (if ever) much later. This tendency to produce snap judgments fuels the perception among people that their side is correct and justified while the other side is worthy only of scorn. This manner conditions people to believe in their own cause to the point of justifying violence if necessary and sometimes as absolutely essential. Indeed, the defining characteristics of the Antifa and Proud Boys groups are that violence is welcome and useful and should be utilized because these groups have moved beyond the point at which words, discussion or respectful debate can achieve any effect.

In the West, there needs to be more attention given to the vulnerable young population, as this is where terror groups set their sights for purposes of recruitment. If social media companies are not going to be more diligent in banning these groups from their sites, then Western society at large must give more focus to helping young people have more meaning in their own lives and to be more invested in their own communities so that the values they learn are from their own real-world society as opposed to the virtual society that they cultivate with the members of terror groups. The missing link between the young population and their own real-world communities is the opportunity for relationship; young people need to be given that opportunity, which means they need to receive more attention from real-world peers, groups and media so as to be able to develop values and beliefs that reduce their interest in radicalism or extremism, as propagated by terror groups. Otherwise, it is inevitable that the trend in the thriving rise of terrorism will continue, as there appears to people no other recourse or no other opportunity for action. In the end, people are looking for something…