This week I chose to read the New York Times article, “ISIS and the Lonely Young American.” The title of the article caught my attention because like many others, I worry about attacks from this Islamic terror organization and fear the group as a whole. The article was extremely long and detailed the steps of how a twenty-three year-old girl became very close to ISIS fighters and supporters. It detailed her conversion to Islam and how they played into her insecurities and loneliness and constantly spoke with her and sent her gifts to win her over.

This whole article was extremely troubling to me. It makes me empathetic towards those ISIS and radical groups target, but also makes me worry because it could be happening right next to me without me knowing about it−which is a terrifying thought. With all of the technology coming out and new social media, it seems like it will just become easier for these groups to target people who feel isolated.

This article also opened up a new side of thinking for me. I had never thought of terror groups working so hard to “win” people over, or pretending to become friends with those they targeted online. It puts what is going on in today’s times a little easier to understand why and how people are willing to convert to these radical beliefs and travel to Syria and the middle East to join ISIS. It is terrifying to think about this happening to my friends and/or family members.