Protecting Our Families from Online Extremism: Four Steps Women Can Take
As the mother of two young sons, I can’t stop thinking about what they’re being exposed to—and how it shapes them. Between the algorithms, the gaming communities, and social media platforms, boys are being recruited into online spaces that reward anger, normalize violence, and teach that women can be dismissed or degraded as part of “fun.” This isn’t just theory—it’s real, and the cost is being paid in quiet ways: relationships broken, respect eroded, families hurt.
Ordinary households are becoming front lines. But I believe in what women can do. We are not powerless. We can act—and we must. Because the harm starts small, but its effects ripple out. Here are four steps I believe every woman can take to protect her family and change the story.
1. Name the Threat
Silence gives power to what we don’t name. If we ignore the way digital spaces are shaping ideas about violence, gender, and belonging, those ideas gain ground unchallenged. Talk with your children about what they see online: the images, the memes, the voices.
Explain how algorithms work—that when we click on one thing, the platform suggests ten more of the same.
Share real examples where unchecked content has led to harm.
➡️ Resource: Common Sense Media offers excellent tools for parents to understand what platforms do behind the scenes—and how to talk about them with kids.
2. Interrupt Harmful Narratives
These narratives—the jokes, the memes, the insults—are not harmless. They build a culture where disrespect becomes the norm. Every time someone unmasks a sexist punchline, objects of mockery, or ideologies disguised as “just entertainment,” they chip away at that culture.
Call out disrespect when you hear it—at home, at work, online.
Offer alternatives—words or stories that respect and uplift.
Teach your children that being kind, being curious, and being just are strengths.
➡️ Resource: Futures Without Violence has guides and conversation-starting tools so you don’t have to do this alone.
3. Build Resilience at Home
Resilience is more than bouncing back—it’s about learning armor for the heart and mind. When kids are taught empathy, critical thinking, and self-worth, they are less likely to be dragged into extremist narratives. They see what’s wrong before it’s too late.
Help your children question what they consume online. Don’t accept everything as “just the way it is.”
Model empathy in your own reactions—how to respond when content offends, upsets, or isolates. Use trusted educational resources that reinforce inclusion, fairness, and dignity.
➡️ Resource: Learning for Justice provides content for families and schools about inclusion, anti-bias, and building moral courage.
4. Demand Accountability
We can do a lot in our homes. But systems shape what’s possible, and those systems need to be held to task. Tech companies, schools, and lawmakers must recognize their role in creating environments where extremism can spread unchecked. Women’s voices must be loud here.
Write or call your local representatives. Ask: What policies protect young people from extremist content online?
Push for school curricula that include digital literacy and safe online citizenship.
Support or share work from organizations fighting this fight—holding tech platforms accountable, exposing how algorithms amplify hate, and supporting counter-speech.
➡️ Resource: The Center for Countering Digital Hate tracks how extremist and hateful content spreads online and holds platforms responsible.
Because urgency without facts loses its power:
Research shows that extremist recruitment and radicalization are increasingly happening in online spaces, with social media algorithms creating echo chambers that reinforce extremist beliefs.
Adolescents—especially boys—are among the most vulnerable, as they explore identity, belonging, and power in digital forums where moderation is weak and harmful narratives are rewarded.
A study of online radicalization found that exposure to propaganda is accelerating, with platforms failing to keep up with how quickly content spreads, how rapidly extremist beliefs can shift from passive consumption to active participation.
Together, We Disrupt Harmful Currents
Protecting our families from online harm isn’t optional—it’s essential. Health and wellness aren’t just about physical well-being—it’s about the emotional, social, and moral environments our children grow up in. By naming threats, interrupting harmful stories, building resilience, and demanding accountability, we can pull back the tide of hatred and fear.
At Women4Change, I promise you: we are in this with you. We will keep rising, keep fighting, keep gathering tools, pushing for policy changes, and lifting up stories. Because every child deserves to grow in safety, every girl deserves dignity, and every woman deserves to thrive.
Angie Carr Klitzsch is the CEO of Women4Change Indiana, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Hoosiers to engage in democracy and advocating for equitable outcomes for women and girls in Indiana.