Meet the Team: ERC Project “DANCE”

Our team for the ERC project DANCE (Dark Nerd Communities: A multi-method exploration of toxic degradation in the adolescent technosphere) is now complete. Since the official project launch in early March, the researchers have been working together to investigate toxic dynamics in digital youth and online cultures.

The team includes:

• Dr. Felix Reer (Senior Researcher). He studied at the University of Cologne and completed his doctorate at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Since April 2016, he has been part of Thorsten Quandt’s team, first in an interdisciplinary research project funded by the Daimler and Benz Foundation on the psychosocial effects of internet use, and later as a postdoctoral researcher in teaching and research at the OCL. His research focuses on media psychology; media use and effects research; digital games, virtual reality (VR), and social networking sites.
• Johanna Klapproth (Research Associate). She completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communication Science at the University of Münster. Since June 2021, she has been working at the OCL, including on the now completed BMBF-funded project “HybriD – Real-time Detection of Disinformation Campaigns in Online Media”. Her research focuses on the dynamics of (dis)information, polarization, democratic resilience, prevention and intervention strategies, and computational methods with a focus on the analysis of temporal dynamics.
• M. Saïd H. Unger (Research Associate). He studied Sociology and History in Jena and later completed a master’s degree in Sociology and Social Research in Bremen. After working as a research associate at the University of Stuttgart, he joined the OCL in 2021, including work on the BMBF project “HybriD”. His research interests include alternative media, disinformation, and computational methods.
• Philipp Völker (Research Associate). He completed a bachelor’s degree in Communication Science followed by a master’s degree in Communication Management and Analysis at the University of Hohenheim. Since March 2026, he has been working as a research associate in the ERC project DANCE. His research focuses on media effects research and games.
• Hanna Malena Vogel (Research Associate). She completed a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Strategic Communication at the University of Passau, followed by a master’s degree in Strategic Communication at the University of Münster. Since April 2026, she has been a research associate in the ERC project DANCE. Her research focuses on (dys)functional communication dynamics as well as on gaming and platform cultures.

Welcome to the team! Further information about the project can be found on the project website.