"This preliminary technical report examines the relationship between media uses of Lebanese youth and their potential attraction to extremism—broadly conceived. The study focuses on school students aged 14 to 18 and their teachers. It is based on 16 focus groups distributed across the country and covers a total of 80 students and 80 teachers. To research youth’s media uses and their understanding of media and digital literacy, the study examines their use of various media tools: traditional and digital media, as well as social media, games, and smartphones. The qualitative study reveals various types of extremist inclinations among youth, including religious/sectarian, political, familial/tribal, and racial extremism. Some patterns of extremism may be linked to students’ uses of the Internet and social media, as a catalyst or trigger for action. The widespread use of chatting applications shows a potential risk for connection with extremist groups, while the use of violent video games demonstrates a potential link to students’ violent reactions in their communities, as the examples in the report show. Consistently, participating students are especially drawn to violent, horror and action films. The study also reveals that students are less interested in watching television, which has declined in favor of new media platforms. When it comes to policies regarding media uses that aim to protect students from extremism, few schools have them, yet all except one school teacher expressed concerns about their students receiving media messages that incite violent behavior and lead to recruitment by extremist groups. The teachers expressed fear that their students may be potentially encouraged through new media to engage in risky and violent acts, including extremism, terrorism, early sexual behavior, and drug abuse. Despite this fear, findings show that extremism among the young students was the most limited in schools where clear policies regulate media uses, curricula include some digital and media literacy instruction, and teachers follow up with students when they detect signs of extremist behaviors." (Abstract)