Chats, narrativ! (Chats, narrative!)

Have a narrative say in (gaming) chats - and avert (self-)hatred

Chat histories that are characterized by violent and anti-democratic accents - whether on social media channels, messengers, Discord servers, gaming portals or in games - and in which people (groups of people) are spoken about in a contemptuous manner are often upsetting and make you feel helpless. Sometimes you come across undisguised cynicism and malice, often mixed with depression and great self-doubt.

For example, on Steam chat participant F posts a picture of a couple watching a movie about Hitler together and complains: “Why can't I find the right woman for this?”, to which participant X replies: “Because you're ugly, I guess”, acknowledged by a: “Son of a bitch” by F; and finally participant P corrects: “Because everyone is a whore except mom, is the right answer!”.

Solidary and democratically motivated teenagers and young adults, for whom respect and fairness are important, do not find it easy to react in a favorable way without making themselves a target, reaching their limits and/or being excluded from the chat. And experience has shown that professional political images are no different. Especially as the participants justifiably claim their (closed) chat room as a quasi-private area.

Having a good effect beyond morality and argumentation

At the same time, these digital living spaces offer good opportunities for successful outreach political education interventions. However, so-called counter-narratives and argumentative or moralizing speeches often fall short here - after all, the actors have created these spaces primarily to escape what they call “social justice warriors” and “snowflakes”. These pedagogical speeches often even reinforce the processes of turning to cynical attitudes to life.

Support can be obtained here from a new dialog methodology that is borrowed from an offline process - the 'narrative discussion groups' with pupils. This is a mode of conversation that is always friendly, interested, inquiring, tends to be non-argumentative, but is also prepared to set boundaries and provide impulses. This approach triggers intellectual and emotional insights and generates pro-social group dynamics - beyond direct confrontation, moral appeals and success-oriented persuasion.

In schools, this interactive dialog method in discussion groups has been successful in reaching even young people who are difficult to approach or who have an affinity for the extreme right. This is due to the nature of human storytelling: Those who narrate do not despise - neither others nor themselves. After all, in moments of storytelling, even if they only last half sentences, there is peace.

Potential of participatory, outreach political education in the peer process

The potential of the immense online chat environment is twofold: those groups that are caught up in destructive chat cultures can be reached directly in their digital space. There, individuals and groups can receive (small) impulses for reflection - and introspection - that go beyond the usual patterns of misanthropic (and self-harming) behavior.

And those other users who are moderate and human rights-minded, but feel helpless, can be methodically qualified and encouraged to intervene in a favorable and effective way without getting into unfruitful escalation - and thus live a new and sustainable political culture.

Measures in “Chats, narrative!”

Together with experts from the fields of social media and gaming as well as practitioners from narrative relationship-building pedagogical methods, the “Chats, narrative!” project will identify sustainable forms of dialogue and behavior that stimulate and support pro-social, human rights attitudes in charged chat rooms. To this end, a chat dialog team, in cooperation with a university of applied sciences for social work, will test various forms of dialog in different natural chat groups on several portals.

An analysis of dialogic impact factors and a collection of relevant chat passages, including options for chat communication and initial reaction, will be created as a guide for training and further education purposes. Furthermore, a further education and training concept is to be developed, by means of which practitioners will be qualified for a committed but sensitively dosed “having their say”. Young people and young adults in particular are addressed.

Building on this, outreach/informal online engagement training for young people/students can be set up in a peer process, which can also be part of the educational mission of schools. They would encourage, prepare and accompany young people to participate in online worlds in a proactive, but level-headed manner from a dialogical human rights perspective. Contact and advocacy in the social media and gaming industry as well as with state education ministries are campaigning for the funding of a model trial of further training with pupils from upper secondary schools - and are striving for educational policy consolidation.

Project duration

January - December 2025