FROM POSTS TO BONDS: UNCOVERING ADOLESCENTS’ FRIENDSHIP ON FACEBOOK THROUGH LANGUAGE USE

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20535/2410-8286.322172

Keywords:

Adolescent, Bond, Friendship, Language Use, Social Media

Abstract

Social media, such as Facebook, is used not only as a communication tool but also as a space to maintain friendships and expand friend networks, particularly among adolescents. In response to this phenomenon, the current study investigates friendship dynamics among teenagers by analyzing the language used in their Facebook posts. To accomplish the objective of the study, a corpus analysis was employed to identify patterns of friendship expression. Data were collected using a Facebook feature called Virtual Advertising Operations (VAO), resulting in 1,243 posts related to the theme of relationships. Among these, the most prominent sub-theme was bonding and bridging with friendship as the primary topic. To analyze the data, we used categorization and the detection of textual information. The study underscores Facebook's importance as a key platform where youth build and strengthen friendships. Examining how they use language highlights themes like loyalty, emotional sharing, and social connection that shape their interactions on the platform. These insights emphasize that adolescents use Facebook not just to communicate but to actively shape and express their social relationships. The study also discusses implications for language education from social media content to cultivate students’ pragmatic competence and to provide meaningful and real-world communication practice. Future studies are encouraged to explore other modes of digital interaction, such as images and multimedia.

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Author Biographies

Sri Wahyuni, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta

Sri Wahyuni is a doctoral student in the Study Program of Language Education Science, Faculty of Languages, Arts, and Culture, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta. She currently teaches at the Universitas Islam Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia. She consistently dedicated her work to technology-enhanced English education. Her works have appeared in Scopus-indexed journals, including the Journal of Education and Learning, the International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, and the International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering.

Pratomo Widodo, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta

Pratomo Widodo is a professor at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta. He focuses his research on Germanistic and contrastive linguistics. He has published his work in several Scopus-indexed journals, including 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature, Studies in English Language and Education, International Journal of Language Education, and Journal of Education and Learning

Erna Andriyanti, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta

Erna Andriyanti is a professor of linguistics at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She teaches primarily linguistics subjects, including sociolinguistics, linguistics research methodology, and linguistics research proposal writing. Her articles have appeared in Scopus-indexed journals, including Studies in English Language and Education Journal of Learning for Development, Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, Kemanusiaan, and Gema Online Journal of Language Studies.

Hishamudin Isam, Universiti Utara Malaysia

Hishamudin Isam holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Malay Studies (Language and Linguistics) from Universiti Malaya (UM). He has completed his PhD in Linguistics at the Centre for Language and Linguistics Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). His research interests include Semantics, Pragmatics, and Malay cultural studies. He has actively conducted research and published several journal articles in these fields.

Asnawi Asnawi, Universitas Islam Riau

Asnawi is an associate professor at the Department of Indonesian Language and Literature Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Islam Riau. After finishing his doctorate in language education from Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia, he returned to Universitas Islam Riau to pursue his research. He collaborates with colleagues from other fields to examine different points from various perspectives on current educational issues.

Noni Andriyani, Universitas Islam Riau

Noni Andriyani is a senior lecturer in the Department of Indonesian Language and Literature Education at Universitas Islam Riau (UIR), Indonesia. She has a strong academic background in language and linguistics, with extensive experience in teaching and research.

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Published

2025-08-30

How to Cite

Wahyuni, S., Widodo, P., Andriyanti, E., Isam, H., Asnawi, A., & Andriyani, N. (2025). FROM POSTS TO BONDS: UNCOVERING ADOLESCENTS’ FRIENDSHIP ON FACEBOOK THROUGH LANGUAGE USE . Advanced Education, 18(26), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.20535/2410-8286.322172

Issue

2025: Issue 26

Section

ARTICLES

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Copyright (c) 2025 Sri Wahyuni, Pratomo Widodo, Erna Andriyanti, Hishamudin Isam, Asnawi Asnawi, Noni Andriyani. The cover image was created using a licensed illustration from iStock, which was then refined and enhanced using ChatGPT’s image tools.

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