The Effect of Facebook Social Network on Cultural Identity of Youth in Isfahan

Abstract

By expanding the access to the Internet and the Internet social networks and increasing use which the youth represents of different types of issues and the content of these modern media, the cultural identity has transformed into one of the main concerns related to social coherence and national unity. Therefore, the present study investigates the relationship between the presence and interaction in Facebook social network and the youth's cultural identity. The main question of this study is what influence using Facebook has on cultural identity of users? Is Facebook as one of the tools of globalization attenuator of cultural identity? The present study is in the form of a survey one and is conducted using the method ofvolunteer and available sampling and employing the internet researcher-made questionnaire by focusing Giddens' Cultivation and Strucration theories. The population of the present study includes young users of Facebook in Isfahan in 2012 and the sample is equal 424 participants. The results of the present study indicate that there is a significant and reverse correlation between the length of membership, users' amount of se and participation and activities in Facebook and their cultural identities and also there is a significant and positive correlation between considering Facebook contents as real and users' cultural identities. It means that the more the length of membership is, the more the users' amount of use and participation and activity in Facebook and the weaker users' cultural identities.