March 23, 2023

Digital communications and online gaming platforms are often thought of as bad influences on youth. This impression is not helped by recent news that two teenagers in Singapore had been radicalised through online gaming and communications platforms.

In ‘Commentary: Amid Fears of Radicalisation via Gaming, Parents Need to Step Up and Listen to Their Children’ (Channel NewsAsia, March 2023), Mr Jonathan Sim, a Lecturer at the NUS Department of Philosophy, urges adults not to view these platforms as inherently bad.

Mr Sim argues that digital platforms are avenues through which youths fulfil their need to connect with others. This is a human need that all people, young and old alike, can relate to. As youths meet like-minded people through online gaming platforms, the friends they make there can become role models.

But when parents fail to understand and accept the way their children use these online platforms, children may feel more alienated from their parents. This might contribute to their heavier reliance on finding social connections through digital platforms, where they might meet negative role models.

To counter this, Mr Sim suggests that parents try out gaming platforms for themselves. If they do, then they might find that their own life experiences and understandings can still be made relevant, although the context is now in the digital gaming realm, rather than the in-person world. In this way, parents can connect with their children through a genuine common interest in games, fostering a stronger social connection. With their experiences with online gaming platforms, parents may also become able to offer more effective guidance for youth to navigate online platforms.

Read the commentary here: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/youth-radicalisation-gaming-roblox-discord-technology-parenting-3362441