Terrorism is evolving, sometimes almost beyond recognition. The pace of radicalization is accelerating. Attacks have become increasingly basic, unsophisticated and cheap. For some, terrorism seems to be like a craving, a source of dopamine to satisfy carnal impulses.

Quick preparation, convenience and mass production: Welcome to the age of fast-food terrorism.

A growing proportion of terrorist perpetrators are very young, with minors now representing up to a third of the counterterrorism workload in several European countries. Terrorism historically has been a youth problem, appealing particularly to “military age males” between 18 and 35. But today’s profiles are getting much younger, with arrests of individuals as young as 12 becoming almost daily occurrences.

These young perpetrators are mostly radicalizing online, where they spend a good part of their lives and are regularly bombarded with extreme content, mostly on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Like fast-food marketing, terrorist propaganda online seeks to engage young brains in desperate need of affirmation, searching for a more defined identity or a grievance to latch on to. This propaganda is not designed for a refined palate, but for the individual in search of instant gratification.

Several counterterrorism services have released public reports to raise awareness and vigilance against this phenomenon.

It is not just the young age of the perpetrators, however, but also the accelerated pace of their radicalization. A process that could previously take months or years is now regularly a matter of weeks, as recently reported by counterterrorism services, including the French DGSI. The rate of radicalization is akin to........

© The Korea Times