When is media use problematic? In the project, the narrative method of storytelling was combined with a crowdsourcing process and tested in an exemplary way in a topic area with high social value controversies and areas of tension: (problematic) media use.
In the school setting, empirical knowledge should be collected from people and institutions affected by (problematic) media use (young people, parents, teachers, schools) and evaluated or made manageable with a view to deriving possible research questions. A total of 50 stories were to be included in the project as part of the collaboration with at least two, but ideally three schools in different federal states. It was possible to submit stories via video or voice message using a messenger app. After collecting the stories, the contributions were transcribed and evaluated.

The validation of the findings was carried out within the framework of a total of three focus groups with young people, parents and teachers, but also with experts from science and practice (media science, counselling centres, media and education policy, etc.). In the focus groups, the condensed statements from the stories were transferred into research hypotheses and the project results were finally explicitly evaluated for their transferability to other subject areas. In addition, they were prepared with regard to the methodological approach for further use in school and out-of-school political education work and made available in modular form in an online toolbox. Finally, the results were made available to the public in the form of an open access publication.

The methodological approach chosen in CASPEM, the storytelling approach by means of a crowdsourcing process, is fundamentally open to all topics. At its core, it is about understanding and using the function of stories as carriers of knowledge and culture in order to open up new spaces for thought and action for science, politics and society.

The Da-Vinci-Campus Nauen and the Dreilinden-Gymnasium Berlin supported the project as participatory school partners.