HUBUNGAN KOMUNIKASI VIRTUAL DAN PERASAAN KESEPIAN PADA REMAJA ((Studi Mahasiswa Prodi Ilmu Komunikasi Angkatan 2020 Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang Pada Penggunaan WhatsApp)

Virtual communication allows adolescents to connect with others from anywhere, regardless of time or distance. Adolescents can communicate by exchanging information through WhatsApp in real-time using their gadgets. However, alongside this, the phenomenon of loneliness has also increased. This study aims to determine and understand the relationship between virtual communication and feelings of loneliness among adolescents. This phenomenon is important because adolescents' social interaction patterns have changed drastically with the development of information and communication technology.
The theories used in this study are Hyperpersonal Communication theory and Alone Together theory. The researcher used a survey method with a quantitative approach and a correlational research type. The respondents were selected using simple random sampling from a population of 491 students, with a sample of 84 respondents. Data was collected using questionnaires and then analyzed using univariate and bivariate analysis using Pearson correlation tests.
The results of this study found a strong negative relationship, with a significance value of 0.001 (p < 0.05) and a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.632. The more often adolescents (Communication Studies students, Class of 2020, Muhammadiyah University Malang) engaged in virtual communication, the lower their feelings of loneliness, and vice versa, the less adolescents used virtual communication, the higher their level of loneliness.
Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a relationship between virtual communication and feelings of loneliness among Communication Studies students, Class of 2020, Muhammadiyah University Malang.