The use of social network sites (SNSs) in Iran, where people's freedom of expression is limited, provides new opportunities of sociality to be explored. The introduction of SNSs and in particular Facebook, provided an opportunity for Iranians to experience a different way of life online while living with the restrictions and control of authorities in offline settings. Drawing on the perspectives of dramaturgy and networked publics this study examines how Iranians use Facebook and why people engage with it the way they do. It has undertaken a qualitative field study approach. The empirical data are sourced through semi-structured interviews and participant observations with 30 individuals. This study demonstrates that Iranians are using the SNSs and Facebook as an independent platform from offline life. This study found that Iranians are developing their own approaches and strategies to control privacy, arranging the privacy freatures of the Facebook to meet their needs and self-presentation goals. The constant engagement with overcoming Internet censorship and devising privacy control strategies to maintain privacy enabled this group of users to develop a particular set of digital skills. Facebok cannot be treated as an independent platform for communication in society, but as a technology that is shaped by people and their perceptions about privacy violation based on the impact of ongoing social and political forces in Iran.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:690116 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Bazazordeh, Atefeh |
| Publisher | University of Salford |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://usir.salford.ac.uk/35578/ |
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