Experts treat young people, unsettled in life, as more susceptible to IS recruitment than others

Young people who do not have purposes in their lives are most susceptible to recruitment on the Internet. This opinion was voiced by staff members of the Centre for Civilizational and Regional Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). According to a participant of the project "MediaGvardiya", the "Islamic State" (IS), banned in Russia by the court decision, uses every 5 minutes to place the posts in social networks. Meanwhile, according to a staff member of the Russian State University for the Humanities (known as RGGU), the study revealed no unified strategy in the Russian media to combat the IS.

On June 15, the Institute of African Studies of the RAS in Moscow hosted the seminar on the theme "Youth in the global Islamic movement", the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

According to foreign scientists, in average, militants spent 10 hours to recruit one person, reports Irina Abramova, Director of the Institute for African Studies of the RAS.

"The IS took a niche, which was earlier occupied by the USSR: the positioning of the structure in which social justice prevails," Irina Abramova believes.

According to her, there is the need to develop recommendations for the authorities of prevention for consistent communication with youth.

For recruiters, it is easier to communicate through the Internet with young people, who are the most romantic, non-conformist part of the population. This opinion was expressed by Elena Kharitonova, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, a staff member of the Centre for Civilizational and Regional Studies of the RAS.

According to Elena Kharitonova, the study has highlighted several characteristics of the Internet activities that are attractive to young people. Their number includes the focusing on simple solutions to complex problems, mythologizing with the distinction of "enemies" and "ours", and artificial dramatization of the situation.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.