DIKTAT 3 – School of social media, Deichtorhallen Hamburg

DIKTAT 3 – School of Social Media

DIKTAT is an ongoing art project by Joachim Bosse that explores how social media platforms shape perception, belief and public discourse. The project began in 2023 with DIKTAT 1, a 24-hour performance in Berlin in which Bosse continuously transcribed his own social media feed by hand, creating a self-portrait from the perspective of the algorithm.

Presented at Deichtorhallen Hamburg, DIKTAT 3 transformed the museum into a walk-in social media feed. Images, videos, headlines, comments and advertisements merged into an immersive environment reflecting the constant flow of digital information shaping contemporary life.

At the center of the project was a simple but radical act: visitors were invited to hand-copy their own social media feeds, word by word. By slowing down the speed of scrolling, DIKTAT revealed the narratives, repetitions and belief systems embedded within algorithmically curated realities.

DIKTAT 3 built on the experience of DIKTAT 2 at Ernst Deutsch Theater Hamburg. There, students from Heinrich-Hertz-Schule spent an entire school day—more than eight hours—transcribing TikTok by hand. The project received nationwide media attention for approaching social media not through criticism or prohibition, but through participation and reflection. Instead of debating platforms from a distance, students engaged directly with the mechanisms shaping their everyday reality.

Accompanied by teacher Miriam Höfler, many of the students returned for DIKTAT 3 as experienced guides. They introduced visitors to the method and helped facilitate the collective writing process throughout the exhibition.

What usually disappears within seconds was made visible, tangible and open to reflection