From Home to Digital Space: Mapping the Culture of Family Verbal Violence in Adolescent Cyberbullying

Endah Murwani, Agustinus Rusdianto Berto, Teguh Dwi Putranto

Abstract


Cyberbullying among adolescents is often examined through technological or psychological perspectives, while the role of family communication as a cultural foundation of aggressive behavior remains underexplored. This study aims to analyze verbal violence within family communication as a patterned communicative practice that contributes to adolescents’ involvement in cyberbullying. Using a descriptive survey design, data were collected from 1,481 senior high school students in four Indonesian cities - Mataram, Pontianak, Medan, and Makassar. The instrument measured adolescents’ experiences of verbal violence in family interactions, including negative labeling, verbal reprimands, and ridicule. The findings indicate that verbal violence is a common feature of everyday family communication, particularly in the form of negative labels related to physical appearance, habits, and personality traits. These communicative practices are embedded within hierarchical family structures characterized by collectivism and high-power distance, which legitimize verbal control by authority figures. The internalization of such communication patterns facilitates the reproduction of verbal aggression in digital environments, manifesting as cyberbullying. This study contributes to communication scholarship by highlighting cyberbullying as a continuation of meaning-making and power negotiation processes learned through family discourse. The findings underscore the importance of family-based and culturally informed communication interventions in cyberbullying prevention strategies.

Keywords


Family Communication; Verbal Violence ; Cyberbullying; Adolescents; Power relations

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24329/aspikom.v11i1.1759

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