Online Extremism and Online Hate Exposure among Adolescents and Young Adults in Four Nations
James E.Hawdon, Atte Oksanen, Pekka Räsänen · 2015
Many studies in the social sciences acknowledge that there is an overlap between real and virtual world experiences. While the Internet has opened many new opportunities to expand our minds, knowledge and friendship networks, it has also created new types of risks and threats. This notion is especially noteworthy when considering children and young adults. Probably the most distinct negative online behavior that has recently received scholarly attention is online extremism and hate. This article combines earlier research findings with unique comparative data to add new perspectives to the understanding of how extremist and hate materials are seen online among young people aged 15 to 30 years old. We examined the rates and the forms of exposure in four countries: Finland, the United States of America, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Our findings show that exposure to hate material is common in all four nations. Our findings should raise a red flag in the sense that hate appears to be a part of the online experience.