Social Learning Theory and the Rise of Terrorism

Terror Groups, Media, and Social Learning Theory

Table of Contents

Abstract 3

Introduction 4

Discussion 4

Future Implications 7

References 9

Abstract

Terror groups are thriving thanks in no small part to the rise of social media, which allows these groups to propagate their message instantly and universally. Impressionable young people are often recruited via social media because their own real-world society offers them nothing of any significance to believe in or to embrace. The radical ideologies of terror groups become far more attractive because they fill a hole in the lives of the young and because these groups are capable of forming relationships with them. This paper examines how social learning theory explains the issue of terrorism’s spread in the modern world.

Keywords: terror groups, social media, social learning theory

Introduction

The main idea of social learning theory is that individuals or socialized to embrace or believe in the values and standards of their society (Grusec, 2006). As Bandura (2018) points out, the main ways in which socialization occurs is by way of interaction with peers, groups and media. The main assumptions of social learning theory can be used to explain why different societies and groups develop and thrive in a given environment. This paper will examine and explain how terror groups have been able to thrive in modern day society by applying the principles of social learning theory to the topic.

Discussion

Terror groups are growing rapidly around the world, with extremist organizations developing networks and cells using an informal structure and social media campaigns to advance their causes and increase their visibility (DeCook, 2018). Groups like Antifa and Proud Boys are just two examples of domestic groups that have been linked to terrorist activities by the US government, but there are many other groups, such as ISIS, that have used technology to propagate their aims and attract attention from young people who have no direction in their own lives (Vitolo-Haddad, 2019).

Social learning theory provides an explanation for how these groups have been able to grow and thrive in the modern world (Mills, Freilich, Chermak, Holt & LaFree, 2019). One of the ways that researchers have found terrorists use to lure individuals into their groups is social media (Chatfield, Reddick & Brajawidagda, 2015; Costello & Hawdon, 2018). Social media is a particularly useful way for information to be spread across the world, and it allows terror cells to attract lone wolves who might otherwise never really find a group to call their own. However, social media amplifies the presence and existence of groups, from domestic terror groups to foreign terror groups (Klein, 2019). It gives people a way to identify messages and messengers and develop a sense of identity based on the things they are seeing said on social media platforms to which they belong.

Extremist views, either to the left or to the right, tend to be the proximal mode by which one’s environment is transformed. First, one is exposed to such views via media, peers and groups, as Bandura (2018) shows. Then one becomes radicalized and willing to join a group so as to serve that group and its ideology. That is essentially the process by which terror groups thrive, and social media plays a big part in the process because it serves as the platform for interaction, cultivation and recruitment. Without social media it would be a lot harder for terror groups to get out their message and connect with potential new recruits (Chatfield ete al., 2015).

The essence of social learning theory applied to this understanding is that individuals learn to embrace extremist views because they are living in a radicalized world where extremist ideologies can permeate all environments via social media, which in turn affects how peers and groups see the world (Bandura, 2018; Costello & Hawdon, 2018; Grusec, 2006). Rhetoric is applied on these forums in a way that fires the imaginations, particularly of vulnerable young people who might already be feeling isolated or withdrawn from more immediate groups or peers (Vitolo-Haddad, 2019). This in turn leads to the propagation of memes that foster a new collective identity for the individual who is caught in the net of online extremism (DeCook, 2018).

Young people are especially vulnerable to online extremist campaigns in which memes are generated and radical ideologies propagated because they are still developing a sense of self and their identity is not linked to any one group or belief system within their own immediate environment (DeCook, 2018). Instead of looking for a place of belonging in the real-world, they latch onto virtual worlds in which they are seen as valuable to a radicalized group that cares about their needs and wants them to be an active member of their society. This gives the young people a sense of value and self-worth that they do not have because of their detachment from any significant organizations or institutions within their own real-world environment. They socially learn to espouse extremist views because those are the ones that they meet with online and the groups putting out those views are the ones that reach out to them on social media platforms.

Thus terror groups are able to thrive in the modern day thanks in large part to the rise of social media, which is the number one reason these groups are able to expand, influence others, get their messages out into the world, and recruit new people to join and grow their ranks (Chatfield et al., 2015). Were social media unavailable to these terror groups, they would have a much more difficult time transmitting their beliefs around the world. It would not be nearly as easy to interact with impressionable youths who may already be disaffected by their own surroundings and who are looking for a cause to believe in, no matter how radical it may be.

In the professional setting, it would appear therefore that social media companies do bear some responsibility in addressing the issue of terrorism as their platforms are being used by groups to recruit others and further their own ambitions. These groups cannot possibly thrive the way they do without access to platforms where millions of people can interact virtually, communicate instantly, and develop relationships vital to the spread of terrorist activities.

Some steps should be taken to moderate the influence of these groups and their online potential (Mills et al., 2019). However, it is important to note that not all expansion of these groups is a direct result of social media influence. Many terror groups are able to thrive, particularly in the Middle East, thanks to the support of other nations that sponsor terrorism (Mills et al., 2019). These nations have ulterior motives for funding terror groups, such as geopolitical ambitions, which are facilitate via proxy warfare. Terror cells that these nations sponsor are able to destabilize and undermine other governments, creating an opportunity for hegemony for the sponsoring states. This is almost certainly the case in Syria.

Youths from poor nations in the Middle East often join these terror groups because of the effects of forever wars on their immediate environments. They are taught by experience, peers, and groups within their immediate real-world (unlike in the West) to embrace radical or extremist views as a way of combating a foreign enemy that has invaded their land and caused destruction through aerial bombardment and military interventionism. For the people of the Middle East, the social learning process is affected tremendously by their exposure to violence and to propagandists in their own real-world environment. For people in the West, the main conduit is virtual; the main reason terror groups can grow in the West is that social media makes it possible.

Future Implications

The future implications of these findings suggests that unless some intervention is proposed, implemented and enforced in the West, terror groups will continue to thrive on the support they garner from young impressionable and socially-isolated people in the West. In the Middle East and in other states where terror groups persist, the main cause of their growth is the impact of violence from continued warfare. In some places in Africa, there has been progress in the reduction of certain terror groups through targeted militaristic action and through coordinated efforts by state governments to make amendments to their government in acts of appeasement. However, the continuation of wars in the Middle East will likely serve to continue to give cause to individuals there for joining terror groups, as this serves for some as the only meaningful alternative to life in a world that has been devastated by war.