The rising use of the internet and connected personal devices among younger Canadians has sparked concern about how social media is being used to shape the beliefs, behaviours, and attachments of Canadian youth. On one hand, these platforms offer youth spaces in which to discuss hot button issues, engage with conflicting views, and develop new kinds of identities and relations. On the other hand, they also facilitate group think, which can focus on hateful attitudes online and escalate into violent behaviour offline. How social media function as fertile grounds for the creation and dissemination of content that leads to radicalization among Canadian youth is therefore a topic of growing interest to many Canadian policymakers and practitioners.
Join Dr. Tieja Thomas as she discusses this timely issue using insights gleaned from her applied research program. In this webinar, Tieja will provide audiences with concrete strategies for identifying key, pervasive social narratives, as well as recommendations for developing public campaigns aimed at disrupting inflammatory online rhetoric.