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Seeking Personal Autonomy Through the Use of Facebook in Iran

In Iran, where males and females are kept separated in different spheres, Facebook may be used as an opportunity to bridge this gap between the genders. However, this study showed that Facebook, as a nonymous platform in which people are in contact with their already-made social ties, didn’t seem to be liberating from the existing norms and rules within society. Facebook was a stage that became restricted with the involvement of social ties. The study’s analysis of interviews with six young Iranians showed that social meanings and norms of self-presentation on Facebook are defined to a large degree in terms of gender. The informants used a variety of strategies when presenting themselves on Facebook. They used Facebook simply for gaining personal autonomy. Strategies were adopted especially when one’s personal and community needs were in conflict. Efforts made to apply strategies were gendered and were used mainly by females. Males conformed to and women resisted societal norms and expectations.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-89767
Date January 2013
CreatorsHajin, Mona
PublisherStockholms universitet, Institutionen för mediestudier
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle in journal, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
RelationSAGE Open, 2158-2440, 2013, 3:1, s. 1-13

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