<![CDATA[This study examines verbal abuse as a form of ethical crisis in student communication at SMPN 1 Labuhan Haji. The phenomenon includes teasing, mentioning parents’ names, comments about physical appearance, inappropriate nicknames, and harsh expressions that are often framed as jokes or signs of friendship. The study aims to understand students’ lived experiences and meanings regarding verbal abuse in everyday communication and to examine how these meanings reflect an ethical crisis. A qualitative phenomenological design was employed. Five students were purposively selected based on their experiences with verbal abuse. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, non-participant observation, and documentation. Data analysis followed epoche, horizonalization, clustering of meaning, textural description, structural description, and essence description. The findings show that verbal abuse has become part of students’ interaction patterns and is frequently normalized as joking. Students may occupy both perpetrator and recipient positions in different situations. Expressions intended as jokes may produce hurt, anger, sadness, shame, discomfort, silence, social withdrawal, and crying. The ethical crisis is reflected in the gap between students’ knowledge of communication norms and their everyday practice. Ethical awareness emerges when students distinguish joking from insulting, consider others’ feelings, apologize after causing harm, and avoid repeating hurtful expressions.]]>
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