Moderation and Mediation: Technological Applications in Social
Conflict Resolution
Srijani Choudhury
University of New Haven
Received: 10 November 2025; Accepted: 20 November 2025; Published: 04 December 2025
ABSTRACT
This article examines the evolving role of technology in the management of online conflict, emphasizing a shift
from passive moderation to active mediation. Conventional moderation systems eliminate content and penalize
individuals, potentially hindering society's capacity to engage in challenging yet essential discussions.
Mediation-based solutions facilitate mediated exchanges grounded in conflict resolution theory and computer-
mediated communication. The updated study design employs a mixed methods approach that integrates content
analysis of social media platforms and conflict events with qualitative case studies of platforms evaluating
mediation options. The findings indicate that technological mediation can identify escalation trends, intervene
contextually, and reduce overt animosity compared to conventional moderation. Nonetheless, two significant
drawbacks exist: reliance on platform-generated statistics and restricted generalizability due to selective case
studies, which hinder the comprehension of long-term effects on relationship quality from the perspective of
direct users. In principle, technology serves as a hybrid intermediary both regulating and facilitating discourse
extending Habermasian communicative action into digitally regulated realms. Biases, opacities, and reductions
in empathic capacity would further limit the revolutionary potential. The study indicates that moderation and
mediation represent both a technological and conceptual restructuring of digital governance, highlighting the
need for inclusive, contextual, and morally attuned interventions.
Keywords: Mediation, Conflict, Governance, Communication, Technology
INTRODUCTION
Digital media have emerged as the new public forums for socialization and engagement, ensuring the possibility
of connections while also intensifying conflicts. Conventional systems' moderation procedures are limited
because they prioritize behavior management and regulations for content removal, punishments, and preventing
hazardous actions, all at the expense of dialogue opportunities (Cho et al., 2025). These kinds of methods might
obstruct the resolution of these conflicts and prevent participants from growing empathetic. 'Passive' moderation
is giving way to the idea of 'active' mediation, according to recent technological developments. By combining
computer-mediated communication and conflict resolution theory, technological mediation enables platforms to
facilitate in-person conversations, reduce emotional tension, and help participants come to a mutually agreeable
settlement (Terekhov, 2019). By utilizing analytics and its contextual intervention capability, mediation-rich
systems can identify escalation tendencies and take more proactive measures, making them a type of relationally
aware government. Even with these benefits, there are still difficulties. The ability of interventions to promote
empathy can be hampered by reliance on metrics generated by the platform, selective case studies, and the
possibility of algorithmic bias (United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs & Centre for
Humanitarian Dialogue, 2019). Developing inclusive, ethical, and context-sensitive digital conflict management
techniques requires this understanding. In order to restructure digital governance in the direction of more
meaningful communication, this essay explores how moderation and mediation might serve as both conceptual
frameworks and technical tools.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The Nature of the Conflict and Online Regulation In the digital age, conflict dynamics have changed, with many
players no longer functioning independently but instead interacting in novel ways that reveal their polarization
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