Internet In Iran Research Articles

Internet in Iran; Censorship, Sanctions, and the Challenges Facing Users

Internet in Iran; Censorship, Sanctions, and the Challenges Facing Users

Rich Kids of Tehran: The Consumption of Consumption on the Internet in Iran.

Web 2.0 technologies and social media have given new dimensions to consumerism. Users, overwhelmed with images of prosperous people in wealthy nations, may fantasize about being in their position. In the last decade, new pages on Instagram have emerged with the hashtag #RichKids. Here, users consume luxurious items and prestigious positions, but vicariously. Borrowing the term “vicarious consumption” from Thorstein Veblen, and slightly modifying it to provide an interpretation of consumers of @richkidsoftehran (RKOT), the current study argues that this and similar pages not only do little to solve the problems of the followers but also are counterproductive, creating feelings of rage and frustration. It is the consumption of someone else’s consumption. Although the human mind can imagine itself in RKOT’s position, followers are also aware at all times that this is somebody else’s pleasure, not theirs. This study suggests that netizens ought to take a media literacy approach to help themselves understand that their attention is a valuable personal and collective asset, and they should defend it against the forces which seek to take advantage of ordinary people’s aspirations.

Challenges and Opportunities of Promoting Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in Iran’s Internet Arena

ABSTRACTPromoters of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) increasingly benefit from the use of the Internet. The purpose of this article is to study the barriers and opportunities facing the promotion of complementary and alternative medicine in Iran’s Internet space. The main research questions are: What are the obstacles encountered in Iran while using the Internet to promote CAM? What opportunities are available for promoting CAM on the Internet? How did Iranian users interact with complementary and alternative Internet sites? In the study, 24 executives of CAM websites in Iran were interviewed; executives were selected through purposive sampling. According to the findings, the greatest opportunity provided by the Internet in Iran is “the Internet as a new arena to compete with modern medical discourse.” Yet, barriers to engaging in the Iranian Internet include “obstacles related to different ways of users’ presence,” “obstacles to CAM site management,” “obstacles caused by Iran’s Internet regulations,” and “the dominance of modern medical discourse even on the Internet.” Thus, the Internet has provided an opportunity to challenge modern medical discourse in Iran, but due to the specific conditions of Iran’s Internet, there are still many limitations to the presence of competing medical discourses on the Internet.

Mobile Internet Usage among Adolescents and Young Adults in Iran: A Sociological Survey

This article aims to study the phenomenon of the tendency of adolescents and young adults to the mobile Internet as a social issue in the information era. The phenomenon of the Internet and the mobile Internet has risen in the developed counties as a consequence of increase in the development of electronic communication networks and it has many functions for individuals, family and society. This paper is derived from a survey research in 2013 on the status of this phenomenon in Iran. The statistical population of this research is the adolescents and young adults from 13 to 22 years old in Isfahan who have access to the mobile Internet. The sample population is 193 and the results indicate that there is an intense tendency to the mobile Internet in Iran. This seems normal in comparison with the developed countries. Also, according to the results of the study, 90.3% of adolescents and young people have mobile phones and mobile Internet and have access to the Internet mostly via the Irancell SIM cards and mobile Wi-Fi (they do not use Rightel due to the prohibition of senior clergies). Due to the easy access, the mobile Internet is their favorite. More than browsers, they use online games and social networks (especially Facebook). According to this study no social impairment (eg. Internet addiction, lack of accountability, educational impairment, social isolation, etc) because of the adolescents’ tendency to the mobile Internet was observed in them.

Studying the Relationship between Quality of Sleep and Addiction to Internet among Students

Background: In recent years, Internet use has been of interest to different groups of people especially students and its charm has caused users to spend hours of their time at the computer. Studies show that growing demand for Internet technology caused significant mental health problems and reduced quality of life and unhealthy social relationships for many people. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between internet addictions and sleep quality as one of the components of quality of life among college students.Methods: This cross-sectional study was done among students of Torbat Heydariyeh city in 2015. Data were collected by self-report. Data collection tools were internet addiction questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and a demographic questionnaire. Data was analyzed by SPSS 21. P <0.05 considered statically significant.Results: The average score of sleep disorders and addiction to the Internet was 4.690 ± 0.050 and 33.98 ± 12.05, which represents the average sleep disorders and internet addiction among students. 32.50% of students were suffering from sleep disorders and 23.9% of students had high dependence on the Internet and 2% had severe dependence. Between internet addiction and sleep disorders components, sleep quality and overall score of Pittsburgh questionnaire there was a significant positive correlation (P≤0/05).Conclusion: The results showed that excessive use of the internet is associated with reduced sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness. Due to the increasing use of the Internet in Iran, especially among students, Familiarize users with the harms of excessive use of the Internet and promote the proper Correct culture is essential In order to promote the correct pattern of Internet use helped to reduce sleep problems in students.Keywords: addiction to Internet, sleep quality, Student.

Oppositional Politics and the Internet in Iran: A Visual Semiotic Analysis of the Iranian Green Path Movement’s Website

This article analyzes the Iranian Green Movement’s websites for promotion of their cultural and political struggle against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s oppressive policies. It analyzes the website contribution in four different conditions that establish the movement: the alternative forms of information, culture and meaning production and dissemination for representation and reconstruction of collective identity, the networking and developing of alliance and solidarity between oppositional movement’s activists, the organization and mobilization of public demonstration, and the direct expression of political protests. The goals of the study are to illustrate ways in which the Internet is utilized by the Iranian oppositional movement activists to promote and advance their cultural and political struggles. Toward this end, Roland Barthes’s visual semiotic approach has been deployed to analyze the Iranian oppositional movement’s websites and texts. Findings of the study show that the Internet or websites have being extensively used by the Iranian Green Movement’s activists for the promotion of the alternative forms of information, culture and meanings for representation and reconstruction of collective identity, the organization and mobilization of public demonstration, the networking and development of alliance and solidarity between oppositional movement’s activists and the direct expression of political protests. But, the Iranian Green Movement activists do not used full potential of the internet and website for promotion of their political struggles. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2s1p113

Reinquiry into Advertising Avoidance on the Internet: A Conceptual Replication and Extension

Existing literature indicates that replication and extension studies are crucial for advancement of knowledge and establishing external validity of earlier work. In this study, we replicate and extend Cho and Cheon's (2004) advertising avoidance on the Internet model. We specifically examine the relationship of perceived goal impediment, perceived ad clutter, and prior negative experience with ad avoidance. The proliferation of the Internet has greatly increased ways organizations target customers through online advertising. However, consumers have also become more proficient at advertising avoidance. Survey data from 339 consumers browsing the Internet in Iran were used to validate the original model. Further, an extension of the study suggests that user mode moderates the relationships identified in the original model.

Information and communication technology and women empowerment in Iran

Since the introduction of the Internet in Iran, Iranian women have used this medium not only as a means of accessing and disseminating information but also as the means of voicing their concerns about discriminatory laws and to participate in public discourse. In Iran, the Internet provided a voice to repressed and marginalized groups, particularly young people and educated women. In 2003 the number of female Internet users in Iran reached a remarkably high proportion of nearly half (49%) of the total Internet users in the country, according to the International Telecommunication Union report ( ITU, 2008). This constitutes a total of 11.5 million female Internet users in Iran which is the highest level of Internet penetration rate among Islamic countries in the Middle East. Since the first Farsi blog appeared online in 2001, thousands of weblogs have been created including blogs related to women’s issues in Iran. Blogging in Iran has helped repressed and marginalized groups reach out, including women’s and human rights activists, ethnic and religious minorities and Iranian youth to get their voices heard and to challenge the long standing univocal government and Islamic religious authorities. Women bloggers have been among the leading bloggers within the Iranian blogosphere. By applying the theory of social action and mobilization, this study finds that women’s digital activities prove to be an effective means of participating in communication discourse and mobilizing the female population of Iran in their struggle for a just and fair society.

The Internet in Iran

The introduction of the Internet in Iran has resulted in cultural and social changes in that country. Some of these changes enhance, and others are simply reflective of, the country's rich culture and society. Via the Internet, Iranians share ideas with other people in Western and Eastern civilizations. In the other direction, with the introduction of the Internet to Iran, some Iranian customs, behaviors, and thoughts may be affected by new ideas, attitudes, or behavior from abroad.