ISIS has become an ever-growing issue in the world, but now the terrorist group has started to target even younger individuals in an attempt to grow their platform and their age diversity. Three girls from England have gone “missing,” even though they have been seen at multiple airports and on multiple security cameras, due to the fact that they have run away to join ISIS. The issue that is at hand in this manner is that these girls used the internet to meet with a member of ISIS, which raises questions about who could be a part of the terrorist group, how they are targeting people to join, and why they would go after three British teens. Terrorist groups are a terrifying thought from a distance, so why would three well-to-do teens willingly flee to one?

This group is known for killing multiple people and showcasing the violence in the form of videos distributed online. This group has a large online presence, so of course they would target teenagers that spend a larger portion of their lives online than anywhere else. These three girls were fleeing to ISIS to become brides to the members of the extremist group, which the group hopes will portray the members as heroic and brave, tricking future teenagers into joining. Everyone who is online, or on social media, can become a target of the new way that ISIS is contacting potential members for the group, which is one reason the government has become so concerned with teens online.

Sickeningly enough, the people in ISIS obviously target individuals who have a very weak sense of moral understanding, and will do almost anything to feel like they are making a change, or doing something to benefit something. By enticing people into the group, they can grow their fighting forces and grow their numbers from the suspected 20,000-30,000 fighters to an even higher number, due to the influence that the internet can have on teens. By showing that they know how to target people with a weak moral understanding, and showing the modern ways that they will get people on their side, ISIS appears to a be powerful force.

The question of why ISIS is targeting British teens should be focused upon the fact that they are targeting teens from all regions of the Western world. This could be just a coincidence, but more than likely this is a part of their strategic plan to show that they can even create conflict on home soil without having to be near us. As high school students, we all have access to social media, which further increases the notion that anyone can be accessed by individuals half way across the globe with sinister intentions.

ISIS has had an impact on the modern world by using modern conveniences and modern technology to interrupt our western culture. The main reason teenagers are targeted is that they are very easy targets to be persuaded into something they don’t know everything about, let alone what is going on in an entirely different area of the world.