Cyberbullying is a phenomenon that can never be separated from conflict in digital communication. Quoted from CNBC Indonesia, Instagram has been named the social media most often used for online bullying. Based on Ditch The Label research on 10 thousand teenagers from England aged 12 to 20, 42% of them admitted to having been victims of cyberbullying on Instagram. Not only that, in Indonesia itself it is a threat to its users, where the rate of suicide cases also continues to increase due to cyberbullying.
At the International Conference on Vocational Education Applied Science and Technology (ICVEAST) which was held 25-27 July 2023, Information and Public Relations students class of 2021 presented research results with the title, “Influencer Communication Strategies in Dealing with Cyberbullying on Instagram”. The team consisting of Muhammad Zidan Rendra, Rizky Agung Prasetyo, Alvian Degdya Wibowo and Bimo Sulistyo Wibowo raised the problem of the large number of cyberbullying that exists in society. The aim of this research is to find a formula on how to manage cyberbullying for Instagram users by looking at the experiences of influencers in Indonesia. The sample in this study was influencers. Why Influencers?, Muhammad Zidan as head of the research team said that cyberbullying is closely related to influencers or what we usually call celebrity celebrities, so their experience in managing cyberbullying can be used as a digital communication strategy.
Through in-depth interviews with several Instagram influencers who have more than 10,000 followers, the results obtained were the classification and types of cyberbullying and how to manage it. Cyberbullying consists of four types, namely hate speech, dissing, body shaming, and sexual harassment. Strategies for managing cyberbullying by influencers include denial, diminishment, and bolstering. It is hoped that the results of this research will be able to provide new strategies for managing cyberbullying on social media. The attitudes taken by influencers can be used as a model for how to manage communication when users face cyberbullying on social media.
This research is the result of the Applied Research Methods course in the Information and Public Relations Study Program in semester 4. Under the direction of one of the Information and Public Relations lecturers, as Coresponding author, Nur Laili Mardhiyani, S.I.Kom., M.I.Kom., this research team was able to publish output in the form of international proceeding articles. This is one of the expected outcomes of each course in the vocational-based Information and Public Relations curriculum. The output is not only producing products, but on the other hand, students are also able to think critically and channel their innovation and thoughts through scientific articles.
For more complete information about the article, you can access the following link: “Influencer Communication Strategies in Dealing with Cyberbullying on Instagram”
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