THE CORRELATION BETWEEN ANONYMITY AND VERBAL AGGRESSION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS SOCIAL MEDIA USERS

Abstract

This study aims to determine the correlation between anonymity and verbal aggression in university students who use social media. Anonymity is a condition where an individual cannot be identified by others and his or her true identity is not known. Verbal aggression is a behavior that attacks individuals through verbal expressions with the aim of hurting others. The research method used is quantitative with a correlational research design. The sample consist of 101 students and utilised the purposive sampling technique. The criteria for the research subjects are Malang State University (UMS) students, aged 18-24 years, using social media and having anonymous accounts. The scales used in this study are (1) the adaptation scale of the Anonymity Scale by Lee, Choi, and Kim (2013) with a validity between 0.425-0.691 and reliability of 0.627 and (2) Verbal Aggression Scale by Worthington & Bodie (2017) with validity between 0.377 - 0.777 and reliability of 0.848. The conclusion of this study is that there is a significant positive correlation (r = 0.452 ; p <
0.05) between anonymity and verbal aggression in students who use social media in the moderate category. It is hoped that further studies will explore more sources of references related to anonymity or verbal aggression to get better and comprehensive research results.