siyavash salavatian; Mehdi Dolatkhah
Volume 7, Issue 1 , September 2017, , Pages 67-84
Abstract
Mobile social networks are a new generation of communication methods in the virtual space. These powerful communication tools can influence the cultural identity of individuals. The present research aims to demonstrate the impact of mobile social network on the cultural identity of Iranian university ...
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Mobile social networks are a new generation of communication methods in the virtual space. These powerful communication tools can influence the cultural identity of individuals. The present research aims to demonstrate the impact of mobile social network on the cultural identity of Iranian university students and in doing so it evaluates mobile social networks as the independent variable and cultural identity as the dependent variable. From among mobile social networks, Viber and WhatsApp have been chosen because they enjoy higher popularity and number of users in Iran. Their impacts on language, religiosity, clothing style, social behavior and morality which are factors of cultural identity have been measured. Library and field research methods as well as questionnaires were used for data gathering. The statistical population contained graduate students of the Management and Accounting Faculty of Allameh Tabataba‘i University. The statistical population of the research included 450 individuals from which 218 individuals were randomly chosen for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive and deductive methods. The normality of the variables under study was analyzed using Kolmogorove-Smimov test and it was found that the distribution for all variables was non-normal. Then, the construct validity of all the variables was studied using Confirmatory factor analysis. In the next stage, the hypotheses of the research were put to test using the structural equation model. The results indicated that all the hypotheses are confirmed and mobile social networks do have a positive and meaningful impact on cultural identity.
