9 Tips to Navigate Group Chat Drama for a Stress-Free Holiday Season
As the holidays approach, students are looking to stay connected with their friends amidst the busy season. With nearly 100% of Gen Z engaged in active group chats, this remains one of the top ways to keep in touch with friends and even family members as the semester ends and they go on break during the holidays.
However, quick communication among large groups can sometimes lead to challenges, such as misinterpreting a message or a joke that goes too far. As educators, how can we empower students to navigate — or even avoid — group chat drama? Let’s explore some strategies.
Why is Group Chat Drama a Hot Topic?
Group chat drama often stems from misinterpretations, arguments, or the overwhelming nature of constant notifications. In a recent Trending Lesson by The Social Institute, Navigating group chat drama by communicating clearly and setting boundaries, nearly half of the 3,638 students polled reported experiencing stress related to group chat drama.
One student shared with The Washington Post, “What happens in the group chat is what’s actually happening in the friendship. It’s really symbolic of the actual health of your friend group. I’ve noticed that as people start getting distant in real life, the group chat starts getting more and more empty.” Addressing group chat drama is key to empowering students to maintain healthy relationships, both online and offline.
Not only do group chat messages reflect the health of a friend group, but they can also be a source of stress. Many students feel pressured to stay connected with friends while balancing final exams and preparing for the holiday season. In fact, over half of group chat users have left at some point because keeping up with all the messages felt like a job.
Balancing a sense of connection with others while managing potential drama online requires a positive, proactive approach. So, how can we help students manage group chats before they become a source of stress?
Social Standards
Let’s start with the basics. Here at The Social Institute, we empower students to live up to Seven Social Standards that empower them to uphold their values in challenging situations. Rather than rules, these standards are guidelines that promote positive social media and tech use. Here are a few Social Standards that students can live up to that will help them navigate drama in group chats:
- Play to Your Core: Reflecting our values, character, and interests in our actions online. 🙋❤
- Sometimes, it might be tempting for students to chime in on a joke in a group chat. But all too often, a joke can be taken too far or not reflect how your students really feel. By encouraging students to play to their core values, they are reminded to always interact online and in group chats in ways that align with how they want to be viewed. Remind your students that “a screenshot lasts forever,” and if the joke isn’t reflective of their core values, they might not want to say it.
- Handle the Pressure: Finding your own path no matter the pressure from others. 👨👩👧👦👨👨👧👩👩👦👦
- It happens more often than you think when, all of a sudden, there might be 50 messages in a group chat. This can feel overwhelming, especially if students are busy with jobs, school work, or extracurricular activities. Remind students that they don’t have to respond right away. In fact, in The Social Institute’s 2024 Student Insights Report, we discovered that more than 50% of students believe they don’t have to respond to text messages right away. Encourage your students to take a break when they feel pressured to keep up with constant communication.
- Cyberback: Having each others’ backs and supporting each other online. 💪💻
- Similar to how some people are bolder with what they say to others online and might say things they never would to a person’s face, hurtful things are often said about a fellow student, not in a group chat. When this happens, it’s important to remind your students to cyberback by changing the topic, asking the group members not to send hurtful messages, or removing themselves from the chat.
Strategies & Tips for Navigating the Drama
Other than living up to high standards, here are a few simple strategies you can share with your students today as they come back into the classroom.
- Think Before You Type: Be mindful of what you say. Don’t spam the chat with too many messages, and think about how your words might be taken.
- Remember Screenshots: Anything you say in the chat can be screenshotted. So, it’s smart to keep things respectful and avoid sharing private stuff.
- Know What Causes Drama: Learn what usually makes drama in group chats – misinterpretations, too much talking at once, arguments, taking jokes too seriously, and leaving without saying why.
- Solve Problems Privately: If there’s an issue, talk about it privately with the person involved instead of making it a big deal in the group chat.
- Include Everyone: Make sure everyone who should be in the chat is included. No one likes feeling left out.
- Use Emojis and GIFs: Add emojis or GIFs to lighten things up when it gets tense. It can make conversations more fun.
- Take Breaks: If things get too heated, take a break from the chat and come back when things have cooled down.
- Video or Phone Calls for Serious Stuff: If something’s important or sensitive, it’s better to talk through video or phone calls. It avoids misunderstandings that can happen in text.
- Mute Chats if Needed: If the chat is too much, mute it so you don’t get overwhelmed. You don’t have to leave the chat completely.
As students shift to group chats as the year winds down, educators can equip students with the tools to play to their core, handle the pressure, and cyberback. Learn more by running the Handle The Pressure Lesson: Navigating group chat drama by communicating and clearly setting boundaries.
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The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in empowering students by understanding students. Through #WinAtSocial, our gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform, we equip students, educators, and families to navigate their social world – in the classroom and beyond, online and offline – in healthy, high-character ways. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips, rather than scares and restricts. We incorporate timely topics about social media, tech use, and current events that are impacting student well-being and learning. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach life skills for the modern day, capture student voice, and provide school leaders with actionable insights. Through these insights, students play an essential role in school efforts to support their own health, happiness, and future success as we enable high-impact teaching, meaningful family conversations, and a healthy school culture.