The low-tech answer to Singapore’s youth radicalisation problem
As online extremism grows faster and more fluid, one of Singapore’s strongest defences remains surprisingly simple: families or ordinary people stepping in.
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Monitoring what young people consume online cannot be left to hoping that internet controls work, or that social media platforms shield children from harm, says the writer.
PHOTO: ST FILE
One way Singaporeans have responded to the steady rise in the number of radicalised young people is by collectively reaching for what are seen as silver-bullet solutions.
In the aftermath of the Internal Security Department’s July 27 disclosure that detention orders had been served on three teenagers, including a 14-year-old, some pockets of online commentary entertained a thought experiment: what if Singapore just stopped dithering and went ahead with a hard ban on social media for minors?