Iranians on Facebookdigital behaviour analysis

Resumen

Nobody can deny the influence of virtual worlds on our lives, yet some totalitarian governments thought they can stop the emerging media and their consequences. However people with the technology in their hands have approved that this rapid pace is unstoppable. This dissertation has analyzed the behavior of Iranian users on social networking platform of Facebook which is officially forbidden to be used throughout the geography of Iran. After a review on the governmental media system, other types of (forbidden) media targeted Persian-speaking audience such as satellite televisions, movies, music, books and etc. are discussed. Furthermore, to analyze the digital behavior of Iranian users, a sample of 1100 Facebook profiles according to the criteria of the research and the variables were analyzed. This analysis was done as a netnographic study that is to be explained as an online ethnography. Next the raw data collected from the research sample were analyzed and the results were presented through tables and charts accompanied by the interpretations of the researcher. Concluding that Internet in general, and Facebook in particular, facilitate the move of Iran from tradition toward modernity and that the virtual identity of Iranian users is different from their identity in their offline life. Key words: Facebook, Iran, Virtual life, Digital behavior