The Curtin Esports club said violent extremists have no place on its discord server after the Australian Federal Police reported concerns regarding the radicalisation of young Australian gamers.

On February 9 2024, Australian Federal Ministers and extremism experts met in Canberra to ponder valuable tools and resources to combat youth radicalisation.

At the summit, Minister for Home Affairs Clair O’Neil said youth radicalisation is a “growing problem which affects some of the most vulnerable members of our community.”

Australian Federal Ministers and extremism experts together discussed healthcare, education, and social service measures as possible solutions.

According to the Australian Government, radicalisation occurs when a person adopts ideological, political, and social views significantly different from most members of society.

Do not confuse extremists for social activists.

From eco-terrorists to militant religious groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), extremists hold views outside the conventional norms of society. Much like white supremacist Jacob Hersant, the first Victorian charged for performing a Nazi Salute.

That said, extremist beliefs can be subjective depending on social, cultural, and political contexts. Holding radical rather than conventional beliefs is not inherently bad, however, if a person or group uses violence, terror, and fear as justifiable tools to impose their ideologies on society, violent extremism occurs. 

Social activists, on the other hand, bring about subjective positive change through nonviolent means.

 Consider the recent Fremantle live-export protest for instance. For almost a month, a ship carrying more than 15,000 sheep was anchored off the coast of Fremantle. This lit a fire in the belly of animal rights activists causing hundreds of people to march through the Fremantle docks proudly flaunting banners reading “no excuse for animal abuse.” 

In fact, if my schedule was clear and I had nothing else I could do, I would have been fighting for those poor sheep alongside them… despite being partial to a lamb shank.

Last December the Australian Federal Police mentioned extremists had manipulated online chats and popular gaming sites to spread radical propaganda and recruit young people.

One of Western Australia’s largest gaming online servers is the Curtin Esports Discord server consisting of more than 1200 members and is headed by Curtin Student Guild Deputy Chair of Guild Council Ben Burgess.

Although Ben has not crossed paths with any violent extremists within the gaming Discord, he knows they exist.

“Radicalisation is something that everyone is vulnerable to, it secludes people into pipelines that seem harmless at first but can go down dark paths,” he said.

“It is very important to be aware of such things. 

“Young people need to be educated about such complicated dangers, but it is also the responsibility of their support group to help.

“We are fortunate that we have such a large group of volunteers that are also available to assist with ensuring this if need be as well.”

 At a summit with counter-terror experts in Canberra on February 9, Assistant Mental Health Minister Emma McBride said socially disengaged young people were among the most vulnerable to radicalisation.

Furthermore, according to the latest data reported by the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA), Young Australians aged between 15-24 were the nation’s loneliest demographic.

HILDA reported loneliness scores to be higher for young Australians with a disability, and significantly higher for those with poor mental health. 

According to the Australian Government, not only do mental health factors make young people more vulnerable to radicalisation, but young gamers may seek validation from violent extremists trawling online gaming domains.

This perhaps supports Ms O’Neil’s claim that youth radicalisation is a “growing problem.”

HILDA co-author and University of Melbourne Economic and Social researcher Dr Ferdi Botha wrote in the report about the broader negative impact loneliness may have on society.

“If there aren’t actions taken or policies implemented to intervene, we may see loneliness and psychological distress increasing in the younger generations and this may lead to lower mental and physical wellbeing and other wider societal issues,” he said.

“Loneliness increased in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, but for young people, there is a longer-term trend increase apparent.

“It may be that this is partly connected to growth in smartphones and social media use.”

However, the report also revealed that within this demographic, loneliness appeared more common for those with higher educational attainment.

With O-Week just passed, gaming clubs across Australian universities may have recruited many first-year students. And with HILDA in mind, these clubs may have also reassessed their internal Discord policies.

Over recent years the Curtin Esports club has tried to mitigate extremist behaviour and foster a harmonious club community and so club president Ben Burgess didn’t believe further adjustments were necessary.

“We are excited to have a new intake of members for the club, however, based on the last couple of years we see no need to change our internal policies, however, we will continue to run our opportunities for new club members to involve themselves with the day to do running of the club,” he said.

From navigating unfamiliar concepts to academic pressure, university can be an anxiety-enhancing environment, where its corridors echo with rhythmic keyboard clicks made by burnt-out and socially absent students.

Nevertheless, from trivia nights to toga parties, Curtin’s student clubs have recognised the importance of student wellbeing and have encouraged its members to meet in person.

The Curtin Esports Club is no different.

“Our club makes sure to have both online and in-person events to make our members meet each other and do activities outside of their computer to ensure that people aren’t being isolated,” Ben said.