Militants are exploiting Saudi youth youths by using psychology as a to spread their ideology across cyberspace, sociologists say. They say that in order to prevent youngsters from falling prey to militants operating online, families need to supervise their sons more closely. The sociologists also want schools and mosques to be more active in raising awareness among young people about the dangers of visiting extremist websites. “The militants appear to understand the nature of boys and girls – that they can get carried away by what appeals to their feelings,” said Muhammad Al-Amer, a sociology specialist, warning about the danger of youth exchanging audio and text files without any supervision or censorship. Yahya Abdullah Asiri, supervisor of the King Khalid University web site called for tighter control of the Internet, saying, “The companies which provide Internet service are not as concerned about what is being published on the Internet as much as they are concerned about making huge profits in a short time.” Asiri said the margin of freedom on the Internet has increased to the extent that “the companies have lost control over the materials published and even about the identities of the users.” But Ali Awaji, editor in chief of Afaq Al-Jamea magazine at King Khalid University, was against it, arguing that the Internet is inherently beneficial to society. “If there is misuse of technology by those who prey on the weak, then a massive weakness is present in the system.” – Okaz __
