Interpersonal Communication to Teenagers in Purwokerto, Indonesia

Article history: Interpersonal communication is communication made by two or more people that produces a response both verbally and nonverbally. This study aims to describe the interpersonal communication possessed by adolescents in Purwokerto. The participants in this study were active teenagers from one of the private junior high schools in Purwokerto (n = 47). The research method used in this study is a quantitative descriptive approach with data collection using the Interpersonal Communication scale and measured using aspects of interpersonal communication Devito (2013), namely: openness, Empathy, supportive attitude, positive attitude, and equality. From the results of the research they have conducted. This shows the level of interpersonal communication in students, with the result that 24 students or 51.7% of students in Purwokerto have difficulty or difficulty in communicating. In comparison, 23 students, or 48.3% of students in Purwokerto, have no problem communicating interpersonally. Based on these results, it is expected that educational institutions can explore and provide more stimulus to improve interpersonal communication to students.


INTRODUCTION
Humans are social creatures, which means humans cannot live alone. Therefore, humans need other people around them. Humans need to communicate or interact with other humans (Juliana & Erdiansyah, 2020). According to Wood and Julia (in Irawan 2017), communication is one of the tools used to interact between individuals; communication also touches all aspects of human life, as a person's daily life will not be separated from communication.
Communication is a social process that occurs and is carried out by two or more people who exchange information and meaning. This is the same as the opinion of Griffin and Moorhead (in Hidayat, 2017). Usman (2013) said that humans in their lives must communicate with each other, which means they need other people and need groups or communities to communicate with each other or interact with each other.
According to Papalia, Olds, & Feldman (in Widiantari & Herdiyanto, 2013), the need to have relationships with other people will be high when the individual is at the stage of adolescent development. Adolescence is often referred to as the social period because social relations will become increasingly clear and become very dominant (Paramitasari & Dewi, 2013). Sakti & Yulianto (2013) also stated that adolescence is a transition period from children to adults, marked by searching for identity and building self-image in the community. So, teenagers want to get recognition and want to be admired by the community and show their existence.
Adolescents are expected to achieve new and more mature relationships with their peers, both male and female. They are expected to achieve emotional independence, more responsible social behavior (Kusumo & Jatmika, 2020). According to Widiantari & Herdiyanto (2013), adolescence is a developmental transition between childhood and adulthood, which involves cognitive, biological, and social development changes. Santrock (in Widiantari & Herdiyanto, 2013) explains that adolescents are characterized by a demand to achieve independence and change in establishing relationships with other individuals in a social context. But, at this time, teenagers face a problem related to interpersonal communication, where they have difficulty communicating with the surrounding environment. This is also said by Purnomo (in Kusumo & Jatmika, 2020) that adolescents have difficulty achieving a new and more mature relationship in communicating with others and being able to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
From a preliminary study conducted at a private junior high school in Purwokerto. With a total of 47 respondents. As many as 24 respondents said there were difficulties or obstacles in interpersonal communication, with a percentage of 51.7%, while 23 respondents said there were no obstacles in interpersonal communication with 48.3%. Constraints experienced by adolescents in interpersonal communication include: when communicating, the interlocutor does not respond well, there is no positive feedback when communicating, feels nervous, does not dare to see the interlocutor, is not confident, is overlooked. This is supported by preliminary study data conducted by Akbar & Faryansyah (2018) on 145 respondents, which showed that adolescents aged 12-21 years experienced feelings of irritation (11.7%), feeling uncomfortable (1.4%), low (6.9%), and feel ashamed (1.4%) when the individual gets criticism from other individuals. And experiencing feelings of shame (29%), nervousness (13.4%), fear (4.8%), and feeling uncomfortable (1.4%) when the individual is doing activities that many people see. The following illustrates how important it is for teenagers to feel accepted by their peers, regardless of their gender (Garcia in Akbar & Faryansyah, 2018).
Based on the above background, the purpose of this study is to describe the interpersonal communication possessed by adolescents in a private junior high school in Purwokerto.

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK
Interpersonal communication occurs between connected people or can be interpreted as communication carried out in two or more directions (Devito, 2013). Interpersonal communication is the exchange of messages between one person and another, intentional or not, and can be interpreted by the recipient without any limitation on the number of people involved. in exchange (Darmawan, Silvana, Zaenudin & effendi, 2019). According to Bungin (in Darmawan, Silvana, Zaenudin & Effendi, 2019), interpersonal communication is communication between individuals and is personal, which is carried out directly (without media) or indirectly (through media). According to Pontoh (2013), interpersonal communication is a form of interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication is communication between people face to face, which allows a participant to catch the reactions of others. According to Joseph De Vito (in Kusumo & Jatmika, 2020), interpersonal communication is sending messages from a person and received by another person or a group of people with effects and direct feedback or, in other words, interpersonal communication is a social process. Irawan (2017) said that communication is needed by everyone, not only for sending or receiving messages but also for meeting the basic needs of individuals, namely giving and getting love, the desire to be part of a group, and the need to influence people.
Mulyana (in Dewi & Sudhana, 2013) said that interpersonal communication is communication between people face to face and can capture the reactions of others directly, both verbally and nonverbally. Interpersonal communication is also a conversation close to each other, responding to a problem being discussed, both verbally and nonverbally openly, honestly, without prejudice, so mutual understanding occurs (Wiendijarti, 2011). Devito (2013) revealed that interpersonal communication is sending and receiving messages between two people or a small group. Interpersonal communication is understood as feedback that aims to help someone in increasing personal effectiveness and interpersonal effectiveness. Pontoh (2013) says that interpersonal communication can carry out an instrumental function to influence or persuade others. We can use the five senses to enhance the persuasion of the message that we will communicate to our communicants. Mulyana (in Pontoh, 2013) also said that face-to-face communication could make humans feel more familiar with fellow humans, unlike communication using mass media such as newspapers, television, or any sophisticated technology. Devito (2013) argues that interpersonal communication consists of 4 aspects: openness, empathy, supportive attitude, and positive attitude. Openness is an attitude that can accept input from others and a willingness to open up to reveal information to others. Empathy is the ability to know what another person is going through at any given moment from the other person's point of view. A supportive attitude is an effective interpersonal relationship, which is a relationship with a supportive attitude, meaning that each party communicating commits to support each other and hold open interactions. A positive attitude when communicating refers to positive things for himself and others and giving praise to others. A positive attitude can be indicated in the form of attitude or behavior. Then the last one is. Equality acknowledges that both parties have interests, and both parties are equally valuable and valuable and need each other.
Based on the description above, it can be concluded that interpersonal communication is a communication carried out by two or more people that produces a response both verbally and nonverbally. other, listen, be open, and be sensitive in reading body language and feedback from other individuals.