Across Ghana, the rapid growth of digital access has opened up exciting new spaces for youth expression, connection, and recreation. Online gaming has emerged as a powerful cultural force offering many young people a sense of belonging. From mobile games like Free Fire to more immersive platforms such as Call of Duty and FIFA, gaming is no longer just a pastime; it’s become a daily ritual for many.
However, as this digital trend continues to grow, so does it’s risks. Increasingly, global reports are highlighting how extremist groups are exploiting these gaming platforms, using them to spread propaganda, manipulate narratives, and recruit vulnerable youth. For a country like Ghana, which borders regions already impacted by violent extremism, this concern is especially pressing.
While traditional counter-terrorism strategies have focused mainly on physical threats and border security, it is becoming clear that digital spaces, particularly those frequented by young people, must now be part of the national security conversation. This article examines the intersection of gaming culture, youth vulnerability, and extremist recruitment, arguing for a more proactive and informed policy approach that addresses the unique challenges posed by today’s connected generation.
Youth, Gaming, and Ghana’s Digital Transformation
Ghana has experienced a notable increase in internet access, especially among its youth. As smartphones and mobile data have become more widely available, online gaming has become popular in city areas and the outskirts. Games such as Call of Duty, Free Fire, and FIFA have established engaging spaces where young individuals invest daily hours, crafting digital personas, competing on a global stage, and forging friendships across different countries.
According to Miezah et al. (2020), almost one-third of university students in Ghana exhibit symptoms of gaming addiction. The research also indicated a noticeable gender disparity, showing that male students are considerably more affected. For many adolescents, gaming transcends mere entertainment; it acts as an emotional support, a means of coping, and sometimes even a replacement for connections in the real world. Nonetheless, this dependency on gaming environments creates a significant risk. The spaces where young individuals gather and establish relationships can also serve as avenues for influence, be it beneficial or detrimental.
How Extremists Exploit Gaming Spaces
Extremist organisations are shifting away from traditional methods like training facilities to disseminate their beliefs. They have begun to leverage digital platforms, such as online gaming, to engage anonymously and tactically with young people. According to Hutchinson et al. (2025), these initiatives can be divided into two categories: organic, where individuals encounter harmful content casually and strategic, which entails intentional recruitment activities within gaming settings.
A study conducted by Ogele (2024) reveals that more than 70% of terrorist groups are utilising gaming platforms to recruit, train, finance, or radicalise young individuals. The recruitment process typically starts discreetly, frequently employing humour, memes, or common frustrations within game chatrooms or online forums. As relationships become more established, radical content is increasingly presented, often disguised in themes of identity, injustice, or a sense of purpose.
Additionally, terrorist organisations have created modified versions of well-known games to replicate actual combat scenarios or military operations, where participants assume the roles of insurgents or suicide attackers. These modified games function as training resources or means of spreading propaganda (Ogele, 2024), quietly promoting extremist ideologies and glamorising violence.
The Psychology Behind the Vulnerability
The question often asked is: Why are youth in gaming spaces so susceptible to extremist content?
A part of the answer can be found in the psychological aspects of gaming. Online games provide a sense of immersion, competition and rewards. They foster communities where individuals’ status, sense of belonging, and identity are developed. For young people dealing with social isolation, family problems, or a lack of direction, these environments can resemble a second home that offers a sense of worth and affirmation.
Kuss and Griffiths (2012) describe gaming addiction as a behavioural concern frequently associated with low self-worth, depression and a desire to escape reality. These emotional and psychological factors are the same ones that extremist recruiters take advantage of. For youth who already feel disconnected or doubtful about their future, extremist narratives presented as purposeful, daring and rebellious can be very attractive.
Ogele (2024) further explains that recruiters often look for people who spend a lot of time playing violent, first-person shooter games. These games already make it hard to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s just a game. When extremist ideas are mixed into these games, it can make players less sensitive to violence, easier to manipulate emotionally, and more likely to slowly adopt radical beliefs.
Where Ghana’s Security Strategy Falls Short
Ghana has, to date, successfully remained safe from direct attacks experienced in Burkina Faso and Mali. However, its proximity to the Sahel and the rapid digitisation of youth culture render it susceptible. Despite this, Ghana’s existing counter-terrorism approach primarily emphasises conventional threats, which include managing borders, collecting intelligence, and monitoring communities.
There is a lack of public policy involvement concerning the digital experiences of young people, particularly relating to their gaming habits. Parents, educators, and community leaders frequently have little knowledge of the online environments that youth engage with, much less the ideological messages they might encounter there. As Hutchinson et al. (2025) emphasise, online extremism should be treated with the same level of seriousness as offline recruitment, necessitating a collaborative effort among educators, mental health professionals, game developers, and policymakers.
Countering the Threat: What Ghana Can Do
To effectively address this new frontier in extremism, Ghana must adopt a proactive, preventive approach that bridges security, education, and digital innovation. Here are four key steps:
1. Digital Literacy Education
Ghana must integrate comprehensive digital literacy education into its school curriculum, empowering youth to navigate the online world with discernment. This extends beyond basic computer skills and involves teaching young people how to recognise manipulation tactics, identify disinformation, and understand online grooming, particularly within gaming and social media environments (Hutchinson et al., 2025). This education must equip students with the skills to assess the credibility and bias of online information, understand how algorithms shape online experiences, and recognise tactics of emotional manipulation.
2. Community Engagement and Awareness
Addressing the digital divide between generations is crucial. Ghana must invest in training programs for parents, teachers, and community leaders to help them understand online gaming platforms, recognise red flags, and maintain open conversations with youth about their digital lives. This includes workshops for parents, training for teachers, and community forums to promote knowledge sharing.
3. Collaborate with Gaming Communities
Ghana needs to forge partnerships with Ghanaian gaming influencers, tournament organisers, and café operators to promote positive messaging and create safe gaming environments that actively discourage extremist ideologies. This involves supporting gaming influencers, creating safe gaming spaces with community guidelines and moderation policies, and promoting positive role models who use gaming for social good.
4. Mental Health and Counselling Support
Recognising that psychological vulnerabilities can increase susceptibility to extremist narratives, Ghana must provide accessible mental health resources for young people, especially those displaying signs of gaming addiction, emotional distress, or social withdrawal. This includes school-based counselling services, community-based mental health programs, and online support platforms for anonymity.
By investing in these balanced strategies, Ghana can proactively address the emerging threat of extremist recruitment through gaming platforms, safeguarding its youth and building a more resilient society.
Conclusion
The future of extremism is not only taking shape on battlefields. It’s also emerging in online chat rooms, gaming leaderboards, and through digital avatars. While the youth in Ghana are empowered by technology, they also face intricate dangers that require an updated and sophisticated approach to security.
By understanding that online gaming is more than just a form of entertainment and seeing it as a new domain of influence and potential danger, Ghana can take proactive steps to protect its youth. These initiatives will strengthen their resilience and help them effectively combat extremist threats that are present behind digital screens.
References
Hutchinson, J., Clement, D. Y., Gheorghe, R. M., Kellum, L., & Shuttleworth, A. (2025). “I’m Not Super Familiar with Children’s Ecosystems Online”: Expert Assessments on the Effects of Early Childhood Exposure to Extremism Online. Perspectives on Terrorism, 19(1).
Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Online gaming addiction in children and adolescents: A review of empirical research. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 1(1), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1556/JBA.1.2012.1.1
Miezah, D., Batchelor, J., Megreya, A. M., Richard, Y., & Moustafa, A. A. (2020). Video/Computer Game Addiction Among University Students in Ghana: Prevalence, Correlates and Effects of Some Demographic Factors. Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 30(1), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.5455/PCP.20200320092210
Ogele, E. P. (2024). The Intersection of Gaming and Terrorism: Exploring the Role of Online Gaming in Terrorist Recruitment Methods. Revista Portuguesa de Ciência Política, 22, 23–39. https://doi.org/10.59071/2795-4765.RPCP2024.22/pp.23-39
