Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture

Abstract Abstract
The communication technology revolution has brought profound changes to human lifestyles, work, and communication. Instagram, by altering the traditional production chain and implementing digital governance, have had significant social and political impacts, weakening the power of national governments and cultural identities. This study examines how Instagram influences social, cultural, and governance structures of governments, as well as promotes the goals of the 2030 agenda. The research utilizes a descriptive-analytical method and draws on various sources, including official Meta and Instagram documents.
The framework of the study indicates that internet platforms, in competition with governments and companies, aim to disrupt the competitive value chain. instagram change the production structure, which markets have created based on the power of modern governments. By creating producer and consumer counterparts and establishing new governance practices, they reduce the power of governments and form new production chains. In this regard, Instagram, by breaking the competitive value chain previously controlled by governments, has been able to impose its own norms and policies on users. The findings suggest that these policies align with the implementation of the 2030 agenda, creating significant challenges for national governments and cultural identities, which require precise responses and policymaking to preserve these elements.
Keywords: Social Changes, Platform, Instagram, 2030 Agenda, Production Chain

Introduction
The rapid evolution of communication technologies has led to profound transformations in the ways humans live, work, and communicate. Among these technological advancements, social media platforms such as Instagram have played a significant role. Instagram has transformed traditional methods of production and communication, utilizing digital governance to influence various social, cultural, and political structures. It is apparent that platforms like Instagram have reduced the authority of national governments, altered cultural identities, and introduced new social norms. This study aims to explore how Instagram affects governance structures, societal values, and cultural practices while promoting the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda, which focuses on achieving sustainability through collective global action, is being influenced significantly by digital platforms like Instagram, and the study investigates how these platforms align with the agenda's goals.
The core problem that this research addresses is the increasing power of global digital platforms, particularly Instagram, and their ability to override national regulations and cultural norms. The study seeks to answer the following questions: How does Instagram use its global reach and technological capabilities to influence and promote the goals of the 2030 Agenda? How does Instagram impact the governance structures of national governments and affect the identity of cultures? In addition, the study considers how national governments respond to the challenges posed by Instagram and similar platforms in relation to digital governance, regulation, and cultural preservation.
This paper draws from a wide range of literature across various disciplines, including communications, sociology, political science, and economics, to understand the role of Instagram in the 2030 Agenda's implementation. Previous studies have highlighted the significant influence of social media platforms in shaping public discourse, affecting cultural and social practices, and aligning with global policies. For example, several studies have demonstrated how social media platforms, especially Instagram, have contributed to global educational goals by enabling faster, wider dissemination of information, particularly regarding sustainability issues. Studies such as those by Rajabi et al. (2020) and Leaver et al. (2020) explore Instagram’s potential in fostering global cultural norms aligned with the 2030 Agenda, particularly around issues like gender equality, environmental protection, and social justice.
However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the specific mechanisms through which Instagram directly enforces the 2030 Agenda's goals. While some research has focused on the positive impacts of social media platforms, there has been less attention on how these platforms can challenge national cultural and legal structures. This study aims to bridge this gap by analyzing how Instagram, as a platform owned by Meta, interacts with global governance frameworks like the 2030 Agenda and imposes its own norms.

Materials and Methods

The study employs a descriptive-analytical approach, which is particularly suited to understanding the complex interactions between digital platforms and the 2030 Agenda. The methodology combines qualitative data analysis from official sources such as Meta’s published reports, Instagram's community guidelines, and other relevant documents. The study also draws from case studies of Instagram’s involvement in global governance issues, such as its role in promoting gender equality and environmental sustainability. The data collection includes secondary sources, such as official documents and reports from international organizations like the United Nations, to examine how Instagram aligns its policies with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda.
The research focuses on several key elements of Instagram’s operations: (1) the platform’s role in disrupting traditional production and consumption chains, (2) the application of Instagram’s digital governance practices that align with the goals of the 2030 Agenda, (3) the platform’s impact on national sovereignty and cultural identity, and (4) the challenges and responses from governments to these changes.

Discussion & Result

Instagram, with over 2.35 billion active users globally, represents a major force in reshaping not only the digital economy but also the global cultural landscape. One of the primary findings of this research is Instagram’s ability to break down traditional value chains. By creating a direct connection between producers and consumers, Instagram has reduced the role of intermediaries and empowered users to create and distribute content without the need for traditional media outlets. This shift has diminished the power of governments, which have traditionally regulated and controlled the production and distribution of cultural and economic goods.
Another key finding is that Instagram enforces a set of global norms that align with the 2030 Agenda's objectives. These norms include promoting gender equality, environmental sustainability, and social justice, all of which are key components of the 2030 Agenda. Instagram's policies on removing harmful content, addressing hate speech, and ensuring the security of marginalized groups align with the values outlined in the 2030 Agenda. Furthermore, Instagram's role in facilitating global movements, such as #MeToo and climate change awareness, has demonstrated its capacity to shape public discourse in ways that align with global sustainability goals.
However, this research also highlights significant challenges for national governments and cultural identities. Instagram’s global governance model, which allows it to impose its norms across borders, often conflicts with national laws and cultural practices. The study provides examples of instances where Instagram has taken actions that challenge local regulations. For instance, Instagram’s content moderation policies, which remove or restrict content related to political protests or cultural topics, have clashed with national sovereignty. Furthermore, the platform’s policies on gender identity and LGBTQ+ rights sometimes conflict with conservative cultural practices in certain countries. These examples underscore the tension between global digital governance and national cultural preservation.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that Instagram has become a powerful actor in global governance, often challenging national governments’ authority in areas related to cultural identity and social norms. By leveraging its digital platform, Instagram has the ability to shape public opinion, create new economic models, and promote the goals of the 2030 Agenda. However, the research also reveals that these transformations pose significant challenges for traditional forms of governance and cultural preservation.
One of the central conclusions of this study is that digital platforms like Instagram have introduced a new form of governance—network governance—that operates beyond traditional state borders. Instagram’s policies and actions are increasingly aligned with global norms, such as those outlined in the 2030 Agenda. This shift presents both opportunities and challenges for national governments, which must adapt to the changing landscape of digital governance. The research concludes by emphasizing the need for governments to develop new strategies for regulating digital platforms like Instagram and for ensuring that local cultural identities and national laws are not undermined in the process.
In terms of policy recommendations, the study suggests that governments need to work collaboratively with global platforms like Instagram to create frameworks that promote both global sustainability goals and respect for local cultural practices. Additionally, there is a need for greater transparency in the decision-making processes of platforms like Instagram to ensure that their actions align with the interests of all stakeholders, including national governments, local communities, and users.

Abstract This study examines Leila’s Brothers as a cinematic depiction of structural crises within contemporary Iranian society, emphasizing the clash between traditional frameworks and emerging generational values. Grounded in Inglehart's Value Transition Theory and reception theory, the research argues that the meaning of a film emerges through the interaction between its structural elements and the viewer’s interpretation. Employing narrative analysis based on Selby and Cowdery’s method, the study involved in-depth interviews with selected participants. Findings indicate that the film, through its dense and realistic mise-en-scène, vividly portrays economic hardship and the erosion of social capital as the narrative’s driving forces. The notion of crisis extends beyond economics to encompass self-centered idealism and the absence of collective, goal-oriented action, producing social inertia and structural stagnation. This passivity mirrors the breakdown of institutional authority embedded in the film’s hypertextual discourse, articulated through symbolism, cinematic expression, and dialogue. Audience responses, particularly from viewers, reinforce this interpretation. From their perspective, the film conveys a message of unforeseen transformation—its unconventional ending, marked by the father’s death coinciding with the children’s fleeting joy, replaces traditional resolution with symbolic renewal, reflecting both despair and the possibility of change.

Abstract Color plays a central role in visual representation and in the process of intermedial adaptation. Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh contains symbolic capacities that, in its transition to visual media, particularly traditional Persian painting (miniature) and digital animation, are articulated through color systems. This study investigates how the semiotic system of color is represented in free adaptation of the Shahnameh, from traditional painting to the modern animation The Last Fiction, based on Michel Pastoureau’s theory of color. The research aims to trace the evolution of color semiotics from the literary text of the Shahnameh to Persian painting and subsequently to animation. Assuming the semiotic nature of color, the study argues that in the adaptation process the function of color shifts according to the visual logic of each medium, moving from textual signification toward visual expression. Using a descriptive analytical method, the research draws on the text of the Shahnameh, two selected miniatures from traditional Iranian painting, and key scenes from The Last Fiction. Grounded in cultural semiotics and Pastoureau’s perspective, the findings show that color transforms from a descriptive element in the literary text into a symbolic system in painting and is reinterpreted in animation, highlighting its dynamic role in shaping mythological narratives.

Abstract In recent years, the Constructive Journalism approach has gained significant attention among communication scholars for its goal of presenting a hopeful and engagement-oriented image of the world. However, its role in health reporting for vulnerable audiences, particularly patients with refractory (incurable) diseases, remains under-explored. Utilizing a qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews with 14 experts from the fields of media, medicine, and psychology, this study aims to develop a preliminary framework of the content and structural components of constructive reporting for these patients. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and the constant comparative technique. The findings indicate that constructive reporting for patients with refractory diseases requires a simultaneous reconfiguration of both content and structure. Such reports should focus on thematic elements such as inspiration, social connectedness, solution-orientation, and hope for the future, while employing narrative, logical, and interactive structures characterized by inspirational characterization and supportive language. Producing this content demands specific skills, including storytelling, proficiency in positive psychology, and the ability to synthesize scientific data with human narratives. The preliminary framework proposed in this research can serve as a foundation for design, testing, and validation in future studies involving direct patient participation.

Abstract The present study aims to analyze the interactive network formed in the social movement "Women, Life, Freedom" on Twitter. Previous communication studies in the world show that the social network Twitter plays a special role in the formation and organization of social movements. In Iran, this process also began in 2009 and its influence reached its peak in 2022. But how and in what form did this process occur? This study attempts to scientifically analyze this interactive network using the Social Network Analysis (SNA) method based on the existing big data including ten million tweets in the critical months (September 15 to November 15, 2022). According to the findings, at this time, ten Networked Publics have been formed, often based on opposition to the Islamic Republic system, and only a small virtual community in this cyberspace has been active in support of the ruling system.

Abstract The increasing popularity of board games as an effective cultural medium, which was previously less discussed, has made it inevitable to reinterpret this phenomenon in the daily life of the new generation.

This research aimed to analyze the role of these games in the formation of the cultural identity of Iranian adolescents. The present study was conducted using a qualitative method and data-based theories. Research data were collected through observation and participation, as well as direct semi-structured interviews with 13 participants, including game designers, adolescent consultants, and active players. The findings showed that the central phenomenon is “family-oriented board games in the reproduction and strengthening of cultural identity.” These conditions have conditions such as family authenticity and the mechanism of internalizing values, and have been formed in the context of contextual conditions such as the dominance of manufactured products against a rich historical background. The results indicate that by employing strategies such as localization, thematic redesign, and the development of family-oriented styles, messages such as reproducing and consolidating cultural identity, strengthening family cohesion, developing skills, and relative change in life can be achieved.

Abstract Some media outlets, under the influence of the dominance of politics, reflect on issues with a different approach. research is about the training of a predefined gaze in the representation of Operation Promise 3 and the Western student protests against Israel. The question is what reciprocal patterns media discourses have used to represent these two events? That is, how have a military action and a civil movement been represented by three foreign media outlets? The basis of the article in the analysis is Fairclough's critical discourse analysis method at three levels of description, interpretation, and explanation. The statistical population is the news reports of Al Jazeera, Iran International, Israel's Channel 13, and some domestic media outlets on the US protests (May 2004) and Operation Promise 3 (June 2005). The dual political strategy in student protests with the apparent acceptance of the right to protest and the operational delegitimization of the protests is the result of the analyses. Other results include the different reflections of media discourses on Operation True Promise 3, including "cautious realism" and in some media outlets "reflecting the discourse of threats and acknowledgement of Iran's military power" and in others "the discourse of reducing Iran's military power."

Abstract This study explores the conditions and frameworks involved in the digital identity construction of bloggers in Yazd. Using a qualitative methodology and a grounded theory approach, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 Yazdi bloggers, selected through theoretical and purposeful sampling. The sampling process continued until data saturation was reached. The collected data were analyzed through three stages of coding: open, axial, and selective. The results are presented as 16 main categories, one core category, a paradigm model, and a storyline.

The findings indicate that "Digital Identity Construction," as the central phenomenon, emerges from a combination of factors such as professional motivation and commitment, technical skills, blogging competition, personal and ethical integrity, legal frameworks, creative content production, professional networking, and the social capital of close associates, alongside various contextual and intervening factors. Furthermore, the results show that building a digital identity requires two key strategies: audience alignment and interactive engagement. Ultimately, these strategies lead to two primary outcomes: social and cultural influence and weakening in life management.

Abstract Social media have become vital platforms for human interaction, making the understanding of factors influencing user behavior essential. Among these factors, users’ personality traits significantly shape their motivations and usage patterns. This applied, descriptive-survey, and correlational study explored user personality and online behavior by analyzing the impact of personality traits based on Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT). The statistical population comprised employees of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways in the Isfahan region, from which 300 participants were selected via convenience sampling. Data collection instruments included the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and a UGT questionnaire, analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS software. The findings indicated that extraversion positively and significantly influenced awareness and surveillance, entertainment and recreation, and personal relationship development. Moreover, neuroticism and agreeableness significantly affected awareness and surveillance as well as personal identity development. In contrast, conscientiousness showed no significant effect on social media use dimensions. The results demonstrate that personality differences generate distinct user behavior patterns, confirming that Uses and Gratifications Theory provides an appropriate explanatory framework for these behaviors.

Abstract This study aims to analyze the hidden cultural patterns embedded in the discourse of Saudi users on the X social network regarding the cultural identity of Saudi Arabia, drawing upon Abdullah Al-Ghadhami’s theory of cultural criticism. The main objective of the research is to identify the cultural patterns as well as the underlying semantic and ideological layers involved in the representation of cultural identity within the digital sphere. Adopting a qualitative approach and employing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the study analyzes data collected through purposive sampling from posts published by Saudi users on X. The findings indicate that users’ discourse is organized around four major cultural patterns: the redefinition of tradition within the framework of modernity, the legitimization of social change, the strengthening of cultural nationalism, and the representation of cultural soft power. These patterns reveal that Saudi users participate in the reproduction and re-signification of cultural identity and the construction of new narratives of national identity through the simultaneous representation of tradition and modernity.

Abstract This study examines the relationship between algorithmic media, computational propaganda, cognitive processing, political trust, and citizens’ cognitive security. In this article, algorithmic media refers to social and news platforms based on content ranking, recommendation, and personalization. Computational propaganda denotes the organized use of algorithms, data, and automated agents to shape or disrupt the information environment, while fake news and deepfakes are treated as forms of manipulated content. The study uses an integrative literature review based on a structured search and conceptual synthesis. The findings indicate that platform ranking and manipulated content do not produce uniform political effects by themselves. Rather, in interaction with prior beliefs, identity, emotion, cognitive biases, institutional performance, and lived experience, they may be associated with changes in political trust, affective polarization, and the perception of reality. Cognitive security is defined as the individual and collective capacity to preserve perceptual independence, critically assess evidence, regulate emotional responses, and sustain reality-based public dialogue. The study concludes that the relationship between media use, political trust, and cognitive security is neither linear nor deterministic; it is context-dependent and shaped by feedback processes.

Abstract While Tahmineh Milani’s cinema is predominantly analyzed through its narrative themes on women’s issues, the semiotic exploration of her scenic elements has received less attention. This research aims to investigate the semantic functions of the Iranian carpet as a cultural sign and a visual-symbolic element in her films. Drawing upon Barthes’ semiology, the study’s theoretical framework is designed to elucidate the carpet’s symbolic connotations within the cinematic visual structure. Through a qualitative-interpretive approach, this research systematically examines fourteen of Milani’s feature films. The unit of analysis comprises shots where the carpet, interacting with elements of the mise-en-scène, plays a signifying role. The findings reveal that the carpet transcends its utilitarian function, operating in three primary patterns. First is a “concordant” function, which helps stabilize the myth of the traditional home and patriarchal authority. Second is a “discordant” function, which enables female agency by creating a rupture in the visual order. Third is an “interstitial” function, transforming the carpet into a signifier for complex states of transition. Ultimately, this study concludes that the carpet is not merely set dressing but a cultural sign of tradition, through which the patriarchal system is also represented within Milani’s cinematic visual order.