"Play as a Nazi prison guard": Childhood and Adolescent Exposure to Online Extremist Materials in Online Gaming Environments

Jade Hutchinson^1,2,3*David Yuzva Clement^4,5Kenton Bell⁶Ruxandra Mihaela Gheorghe⁷Alexander Shuttleworth⁸Michaela Espenschied¹Lorraine Kellum⁹

• ¹Department of Security Studies and Criminology, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• ²The Groningen Research Institute for the Study of Culture, Research Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
• ³Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
• ⁴Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence, Public Safety Canada (PS), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
• ⁵School of Social Work, Faculty of Public Affairs, Carleton University, Carleton, Canada
• ⁶Independent Researcher, North Carolina, United States
• ⁷The School of Social Work, Faculty of Public Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
• ⁸The School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
• ⁹Independent Researcher, Brussels, Belgium

This article examines 18 expert assessments reflecting professional evaluations and experiences on the relationship between children, adolescents, and online gaming technologies that facilitate exposure to extremist contents and recruiters. We conducted semi-structured interviews with researchers, practitioners, and policymakers (n=18) from Indo-Pacific, European, and North American government, academic, and education-based organizations. The subject of online gaming was presented as a prominent concern and important component of the sociotechnical environment facilitating children and adolescent experiences with extremist content and recruiters.Findings underscored the importance of private-public partnerships, future "safety-by-design" initiatives, interdisciplinary collaboration with the cognitive-psychological and the developmental sciences and need to understand the swiftly changing technological characteristics of online gaming in shaping how children and adolescents may have encountered online extremism. We also highlight these experts' opinions on the wider sociotechnical environment where such exposure is made possible. This article offers guidance and recommendations to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who wish to better understand and address the influence of online extremism on child and adolescent development in the digital age.