THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND ONLINE GAME PLAYING AMONG ADOLESCENTS AT SMA NEGERI 2 MEDAN 2025

Playing online games provides teenagers withentertainment and a means of expression, but excessive usecan interfere with real-world interaction and lead to socialisolation. This study aims to determine the relationshipbetween interpersonal communication and online gamingamong adolescents at SMA Negeri 2 Medan. The studydesign used a cross-sectional approach with a correlationalmethod. The study population was students of SMA Negeri2 Medan, with a sample of 81 respondents drawn throughrandom sampling techniques and data collection usingquestionnaires. This study has also been declared ethicallyappropriate by the Health Research Ethics Commission ofSTIKes Santa Elisabeth Medan with letter number No.178/KEPK-SE/PE-DET/XI/2025. The results of the SpearmanRank statistical test showed that the majority ofrespondents had a low level of interpersonalcommunication (49.4%) and a moderate level of onlinegaming (55.6%). Data analysis produced a p value of 0.000with a correlation coefficient of -0.385, indicating asignificant and negative relationship. This means that thebetter the quality of adolescents' interpersonalcommunication, the lower the intensity of online gaming.