Technological Seduction and Self-Radicalization
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Many scholars agree that the Internet plays a pivotal role in self-radicalization, which can lead to behaviors ranging from lone-wolf terrorism to participation in white nationalist rallies to mundane bigotry and voting for extremist candidates. However, the mechanisms by which the Internet facilitates self-radicalization are disputed; some fault the individuals who end up self-radicalized, while others lay the blame on the technology itself. In this paper, we explore the role played by technological design decisions in online self-radicalization in its myriad guises, encompassing extreme as well as more mundane forms. We begin by characterizing the phenomenon of technological seduction. Next, we distinguish between top-down seduction and bottom-up seduction. We then situate both forms of technological seduction within the theoretical model of dynamical systems theory. We conclude by articulating strategies for combating online self-radicalization.
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Such path dependencies may have transformative effects, changing the preferences and values of the users themselves and leading to radicalization.
“Such path dependencies may have transformative effects, changing the preferences and values of the users themselves and leading to radicalization”
From Stewardship of global collective behavior (2021) · cites this paper as [127]
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Stewardship of global collective behavior
Bak-Coleman, J. B., Alfano, M., Barfuss, W., Bergstrom, C. T., Centeno, M. A., Couzin, I. D., Donges, J. F., Galesic, M., Gersick, A. S., Jacquet, J., et al. (2021) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2025764118 · Cited by 289 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- ALFANO, M., CARTER, J. A., & CHEONG, M.
- Affiliations
- Australian Catholic University (AU)
- Monash University (AU)
- Venue
- Journal of the American Philosophical Association
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2018
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 298-322
- ISSN
- 2053-4477 (ISSN-L)
- 2053-4485
- OpenAlex
- W2884858920
- Cited by
- 89
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 15.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- eprints.gla.ac.uk
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of the American Philosophical Association (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Monash University Research Portal (Monash University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion)
- PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
- Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Keywords
- self-radicalization, technology design, online radicalization, dynamical systems theory, lone wolf terrorism, white nationalism, extremism, radicalization prevention
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