DOI: 10.4018/IJCBPL.2018100102
International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning
Volume 8 • Issue 4 • October-December 2018
Copyright © 2018, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
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Cyberbullying in Relation to
Empathy and Friendship Quality
Redita Yuliawanti, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Maria Goretti Adiyanti, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
ABSTRACT
Personal characteristics, friendship, culture, and flexibility of the use of technology
are specific factors that contribute to cyberbullying. This study aims to explore the
characteristics of cyberbullying and examine whether empathy and friendship qualities
contribute to the tendency of cyberbullying among adolescents in Indonesia. The
method used were qualitative and quantitative phases with the indigenous approach.
Subjects were adolescents within the age range of 14 to 18 years. Qualitative data
was collected by interviews and FGD from the 18 subjects. The results showed that
cyberbullying is an intimidating behavior. The lack of empathy and poor friendship
quality characterize the qualitative findings. Next, the quantitative data was obtained
from 553 subjects by filling cyberbullying tendencies, empathy, and friendship
quality scales. The results showed that empathy and friendship quality have a negative
contribution on cyberbullying tendencies. Thus, empathy and friendship quality are
factors that prevent the development of cyberbullying behavior in adolescents.
KEywoRdS
Cyberbullying, Empathy, FDG, Friendship Quality
INTRodUCTIoN
The rapid development of communications technology over the past decade has led to
new possibilities for online interaction. The presence of the internet has become one
of the needs of today’s adolescents (Quarshie, 2009; Nixon, 2014). Connecting online
in a community is essential for adolescents, and is a community reality that can not
be underestimated (Notar, Padgett, & Roden, 2013). The evolution of information and
communication technology, in addition to providing benefits to the social and emotional