Leitrim teacher speaks out on report that 63% of Irish children have view extremist online content

A Leitrim councillor and teacher has spoken out after a study has found 63 per cent of children have come across extremist views online.

Cllr James Gilmartin said that it was important that society trust children to make the right decision. "They have a critical role in creating the world that they want to live in as much as we do; it's not about us telling them what to do; you have to trust them to do the right thing."

The study by the Children's Ombudsman involved 626 students attending 28 secondary schools across the country with just six per cent coming across extremist views in real life and one quarter of whom felt their own friends had views they considered to be extreme. 

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Eighty-four per cent said they hear negative comments about immigration and housing, while 61 per cent hear views that society should revert to 'traditional' gender roles, and just over half had heard people express that men are entitled to more authority than women.

Cllr Gilmartin continued: "63 per cent of children have come across extremist views online as opposed to six per cent in real life; that's a big one; that is ten fold. Social media is what is informing children these days. As a teacher and public representative, I would be very concerned with that finding because something needs to be done about the nature of that content online. There has to be legislation. Everyone is entitled to free speech but if young children are being exposed to content like this, that will inform them going forward and the kind of country that we could potentially become."

Cllr Gilmartin stressed that while children have been exposed to this content, it's important to remember that that doesn't mean that they accept those views. "There will be a certain proportion that will because they are impressionable. The report shows that a quarter of students said their friends held those views which is more startling as it's what they actually think."

He said that it was important to set a good example for young people through "how we interact and hope they will follow on with that. People take their example for their peer group and those ahead of them; that's how we learned. We mimic good behaviour because we know it's works and we are all in it together. It's about connection and talking and reasoning things out - not being an expert on anything either. We have seen it in England, especially in socially-deprived areas, where the far-right has got a hold."