The Anonymity Factor as a Key Concept of the Spread of Extremism in the Youth Environment

The purpose of this study was to study the factors, the spread of the ideology of extremism on the world wide web, which is attractive to adherents of extreme views with its accessibility, weak control by the state and law enforcement agencies, anonymity, as well as almost unlimited access to a wide range of users. The objectives of the study are to analyze the reasons for the spread of extremism on the World Wide Web; in particular, the prevailing climate in society is conducive to the emergence of unlawful attacks in the context of the spread of the ideology of extremism and its implementation. The study found that Russian extremism is characterized by the involvement of young people aged 14-30 years, a special socio-demographic group most influenced by destructive ideologies. The goals of extremist movements in social networks and messengers are to popularize their ideas and actions, create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, misinformation, and recruit new members to their ranks. The active use of these resources by extremists is due to the fact that it is almost unlimited to affect the consciousness of users. Moreover, the main aspect of such an impact is the erosion of public confidence in institutions of power, political and power structures, as well as increased social tension and aggravation of conflict situations. The Internet space contributes to the anonymity of users, which is a very attractive factor for imposing destructive attitudes on young people. At the same time, extremists, having moved into the space of virtual reality, to a large extent protected themselves from the social pressure and censorship to which they were subjected in reality. Conclusions: we came to the conclusion that the World Wide Web attracts extremist groups with its accessibility, weak control by the state and law enforcement agencies, anonymity, as well as almost unlimited access to a wide range of users. Hence, the network can see a steady increase in extremist content, which determines the global network as a fertile ground for forcibly planting the ideology of extremism.

world wide web, extremism, youth, opposition