How Online Stories Reveal Lasting School Trauma and Power Imbalances, Indonesian Linguistics Study Finds

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FORMOSA NEWS - Padang - A 2026 study by Melania Priska Mendrofa of Sekolah Tinggi Bahasa Asing (STBA) Prayoga, Indonesia shows that former students’ online stories can reveal how school bullying leaves long-term psychological scars and exposes hidden power relations between teachers, peers, and victims. Published in the Formosa Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, the study matters because it highlights how language itself becomes evidence of trauma and social inequality in education. 

Why School Narratives Matter Today

Across many countries, bullying remains a persistent concern in schools. While public attention often focuses on physical violence, research increasingly shows that verbal humiliation, exclusion, and psychological pressure can be equally damaging.

Mendrofa’s study connects this issue to a broader social trend: people now share personal experiences on digital platforms such as Quora. These narratives create a new public archive of memory, revealing how school experiences continue to shape identity, confidence, and emotional well-being years after graduation.

Understanding how victims describe these events can help educators, policymakers, and mental-health professionals recognize patterns of harm that are often overlooked in formal reports or statistics.

Reading Trauma Through Language

Instead of surveying students or conducting interviews, the study analyzed two publicly shared online narratives about school trauma—one involving a teacher and one involving classmates.

The research combined three approaches:

• Narrative analysis, to examine how experiences are told as personal stories
• Functional linguistic analysis, to identify how actions, feelings, and relationships are expressed in sentences
• Critical discourse analysis, to understand how language reflects power and social hierarchy

This approach allowed the study to move beyond what happened and focus on how victims remember, interpret, and reconstruct events through storytelling.

Key Findings: Language Preserves the Experience of Harm

The analysis shows that trauma is embedded in storytelling patterns rather than only in explicit emotional statements. Several recurring linguistic features appeared in both narratives:

1. Physical actions reveal power imbalance

Stories often describe concrete actions such as mocking, coercion, or public humiliation. These actions show who holds authority and who lacks control.

2. Memory language signals lasting trauma

Victims repeatedly use phrases indicating they cannot forget the experience. This repetition demonstrates how events remain psychologically active long after they occur.

3. Emotional reactions appear through behavior descriptions

References to crying, silence, or isolation indicate that trauma affects not just memory but also emotional regulation and social trust.

4. Hurtful words remain central to the story

Direct quotes of insults or degrading comments are often remembered in detail. This suggests verbal aggression can leave deeper psychological marks than physical actions.

Taken together, these patterns show that trauma does not fade simply because time passes. Instead, it becomes structured into narrative memory and identity.

Teachers, Peers, and the Structure of Power

One of the study’s strongest conclusions is that school power relations become visible through storytelling.

In the teacher-related narrative, authority appears as symbolic power. A teacher’s public remark is remembered not only as a personal insult but as an institutional act that legitimizes humiliation. When classmates laugh along, the teacher’s authority amplifies the social impact of the moment.

In the peer-related narrative, power operates through group dominance. Senior students or socially influential classmates impose control through ridicule, coercion, or exclusion. Differences in speech style or personality can mark a student as socially vulnerable.

The narratives consistently position victims as recipients of action rather than agents, illustrating how social hierarchy becomes internalized through language.

As Mendrofa explains, language is not neutral. It “constructs experiences, identities, and social roles,” meaning the words used in school interactions can shape long-term psychological outcomes. 

Implications for Education and Policy

The findings suggest several practical lessons for schools and decision-makers.

For teachers and school staff

Communication style matters. Public comments, jokes, or criticism can become defining memories for students. Training in empathetic communication may reduce unintended psychological harm.

For school leadership and policymakers

Anti-bullying strategies should address language use, not only physical aggression. Policies that emphasize respectful communication could help prevent emotional trauma.

For mental-health practitioners

Online narratives may provide valuable insights into unreported trauma. Monitoring public storytelling spaces could help identify patterns of harm and support needs.

For society at large

Digital storytelling platforms reveal experiences that institutional systems often overlook. Listening to these narratives can improve public understanding of school environments and social inequality.

Author Profile

Melania Priska Mendrofa

Lecturer at Sekolah Tinggi Bahasa Asing Prayoga (Indonesia)

Field of expertise: linguistics, discourse analysis, language and social interaction in education

Her research focuses on how language reflects social power, identity formation, and psychological experience in everyday communication.

Source

Mendrofa, Melania Priska.

Language, Trauma, and Power Relations in Narratives of Bullying in Online Media.

Formosa Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2026.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/fjmr.v5i2.716