Rising Danger in the Digital World! A Warning from SODİMER

The Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Global Journalists Council (KGK) and the founder of the Social Media and Digital Security Education Research Center (SODİMER), Prof. Dr. Levent Eraslan, has issued warnings regarding the negative impact of the digital world on children and young people. He emphasized that in recent times, with the transformation of crime on social media and digital platforms, many deviant behaviors have emerged. Prof. Dr. Eraslan highlighted that this situation directly affects children and young people the most. During the pandemic, especially, chat applications became environments where young people encountered disinformation, cyberbullying, and hate crimes. He pointed out that these dangers, when combined with digital subcultures, rapidly increase the spiral of violence. Eraslan referred to the term "incel" as a dangerous example of these toxic subcultures. In particular, the recent case involving Semih Çelik has drawn attention to the fact that incel communities pose a significant threat to society. Eraslan stressed that misogynistic rhetoric spreads rapidly through social media, increasing tendencies towards violence and drawing young people into these dangerous ideologies. He also highlighted the great responsibility of parents in protecting their children from the dangers of the digital world, advising them to maintain effective communication with their children and monitor their digital footprints, or else tragic events could occur.

Eraslan stated: "In recent times, with the transformation of crime in the digital world, many deviant behaviors have unfortunately emerged. This situation affects children and young people the most. In popular chat applications, young people are facing disinformation, digital bullying, and hate crimes. When digital subcultures are added to this, the spiral of violence systematically intensifies."