Conflict Resolution Via Whatsapp? Transnational Family Practices of Unaccompanied Refugees in Germany

In the sense of ‘digital kinning’ (Baldassar/Wilding 2020), digital communication technologies enable transnational families to communicate regularly despite distance (Reisenauer 2017). This is particularly important for people who are restricted in their freedom of movement due to their legal migration status and/or limited economic resources (Koser 2007). At the same time, digital communication also entails numerous challenges, such as a lack of intimacy (Sauer et al. 2018; Scherr/Breit 2021) or the feeling of having to be constantly available (Körber 2011; Schwarz 2016). How modern communication technologies affect conflicts between unaccompanied refugees and their families as well as their possible resolution is the subject of this proposal. Following the idea of the mediated relationship (Madianou/Miller 2013), I assume that the medium through which a relationship is maintained has a decisive influence on the very nature of the relationship.

The proposal is based on biographical-narrative interviews (Rosenthal 1995) I conducted with young Syrian refugees in Germany. So far, three patterns of conflict can be identified from the empirical material: 1. Some families avoid conflict altogether, with digital media helping to omit sensitive topics. 2. Digital communication can also lead to a dynamisation of conflicts, especially if constant availability is expected and topics become intertwined. 3. Some families succeed in resolving conflicts constructively by developing new dispute rituals in the digital space.

Due to the great importance of digital communication for transnational families, the proposal makes an important contribution to better understand the every day family lives of unaccompanied refugees. At the same time, the paper offers practical behavioural options to resolve conflicts more constructively via digital communication.