The sociological background of 'incel' radicalism and digital violence

Today, technology and/or digital gaming addiction has reached the scale of a "global epidemic," becoming a threat to society and public health.

Digital gaming addiction, which has entered our agenda with the proliferation of digital technologies, severely damages the socialization processes of children, adolescents, and young people by severing their ties with their families, schools, and social environments.

Research shows that the foundation of a large portion of these games lies in elements of violence. 

Built upon negative values such as hostility, competition, and aggression, this digital universe blurs the boundaries of violence, presents the harm inflicted upon others as a form of entertainment, and leads to a lack of empathy in individuals.

Even more concerning is that digital games are largely based on "violence."

This artificial world, focused on winning and destroying, distorts the perception of violence in real life; by portraying physical harm as a humorous or rewarding act, it severs the individual's bond of social belonging.

Loss of Belonging and Meaning in a Digitalizing World

This transformation in modern society can be explained by the dissolution of traditional control mechanisms and the individual falling into a structural void. As the protective and psychological support functions of the family weaken and schools lose their quality as safe havens, young people are pushed to escape the stress of daily life and chronic loneliness. The inability to find a response to the need for belonging to a group and socialization in the physical world directs the individual toward digital platforms, accelerating the process of withdrawal. Consequently, this loss of authority and meaning, created by the weakening of social bonds, turns digital gaming addiction into an alternative reality to take refuge in.

When examined through the profiles of the perpetrators, the school attacks in Siverek and Maraş serve as harrowing examples of how a new generation of radicalization, which sprouts in digital channels, and virtual violence are being carried into the real world. Closed online networks such as "incel" and the "manosphere," along with platforms similar to C31k, exploit the identity quests of adolescents, presenting violence as a display of power and a legitimate tool for socialization. These digital subcultures normalize hate speech through humor and gamification, eroding the reality perception of young people and constructing a marginal, violence-prone sense of belonging by deepening social withdrawal.

Distorted Socialization in Generation Alpha

"Incel" and similar radical forums offer an artificial space for socialization that legitimizes violence by transforming individual exclusion and anger into a collective hate speech. Generation Alpha, which was born into the digital world, continues its search for belonging in these closed online groups as face-to-face communication declines. The weakening of real social contact in these isolated areas, which can be defined as "digital ghettos," brings emotional isolation with it; the individual's need for acceptance and self-esteem becomes entirely dependent on virtual validation mechanisms focused on "likes" and "engagement." Consequently, for this generation, which has severed ties with traditional bonds, fundamental human emotions are no longer constructed in real life, but within the algorithmic order of virtual networks.

Digital subcultures such as "incel" and the "manosphere," which have evolved into a global movement, are closed ecosystems that convert the frustration individuals experience over physical inadequacy, failure, and loss of status into a collective hate speech. From a sociological perspective, these platforms transform the sense of a "crisis of masculinity" and social exclusion into an organized language of anger, pushing the individual toward the construction of a toxic identity that conflicts with established norms.

The incident that took place in Maraş, recorded as Turkey's first "incel" attack, concretizes the dangerous dimension that this digital radicalization has reached. The perpetrator's idolization of global figures and preparation of a similar farewell manifesto demonstrates how violence ideologies in the virtual world can transcend geographical boundaries and completely seize the reality perception of young people. These cases point to a new and borderless area of social risk where individual crises merge with global narratives of violence.

A Holistic and Restorative Governance Model

To combat the new dynamics of radicalization and violence produced by digitalization, it is important to establish an autonomous and regulatory "supreme" board similar to RTÜK or the BRSA. This board should function as a strategic center that identifies risks in advance, is proactive, and transforms digital literacy into a public defense mechanism. 

Combating the social risks created by digitalization necessitates a holistic and restorative public policy in which family, education, and digital channels act in coordination. At the center of this policy, it is of critical importance that platform companies, which generate massive profits, are held both legally and morally responsible for their content and are subjected to binding sanctions.

A robust educational ecosystem must be redesigned to align with the social, economic, and cultural dynamics of the digital age. Large school structures and overcrowded classrooms should be reduced; learning environments must acquire a quality that attracts students and enhances social participation.

Education should be stripped of boring curricula and suffocating course loads, enriched with cultural, athletic, and artistic activities, and based on a public and democratic pedagogical approach. There is no doubt that such an approach can steer young people away from the risks of digital radicalization, violence, and social alienation, making them the subjects of a dignified and secure future. Because education is not just about adapting to the existing world, but the will to build a better world together; as the pioneer of critical pedagogy 

as Paulo Freire stated: "Education does not change the world; education changes the people who will change the world."