Overview
- An Ombudsman for Children’s Office survey of 626 students in 28 Irish secondary schools found 63% encounter extremist views online compared with 6% in person.
- Students strongly linked extremism to boys and men, with 64% identifying them as most likely to hold extreme views, 55% saying boys have more extreme views, and 51% saying boys are more targeted online.
- Respondents reported frequent exposure to discriminatory rhetoric, including negative comments about immigration or housing (84%), calls for a return to traditional gender roles (61%), and claims that men deserve greater authority (just over half).
- Half of participants named a parent or guardian as their biggest influence and 30% cited friends, while about a quarter said their friends hold views they consider extreme.
- Children’s Ombudsman Niall Muldoon highlighted concerns about recommender algorithms pushing boys toward extreme content and pressed government, schools and social media companies for protective measures and media-literacy teaching.