Gender and Family Studies

Gender and Family Studies

Changes in Meaning of Iranian Home and Family in Social Media with a Focus on Instagram

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Abdullah Bicharanlou 1
Mansoureh Hajjari 2
1 Associate Professor of Social Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Ph.D. Student of Communication Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
In recent decades, social media in Iran have a significant contribution in sharing information and photos among family members. Due to the presence and activity of family members on various platforms and social networks including the Instagram, family relationships that were private in the past without the possibility to be shared in public sphere are now represented in public sphere. The main question of the present study is that contribution of Iranian family members (spouses) in social networks (focusing on Instagram) has created what types of emerging meanings regarding concepts such as home, family, intimacy (romantic relationship), privacy and family rituals. Hence, in this study 700 Instagram posts and stories from 21 family pages have been analyzed based on the social semiotics method, applying Finch's display theory and Giddens' views on power relations in family. The findings indicated several key issues related to changes in family rituals, interactions and family boundaries, which are structured under two overarching themes of "making home and family" as well as "interaction and meaning in family". Other themes include "nuclear family", "extended family ritual", "extended female power" and "extended family privacy". The findings revealed the decrease of the private boundaries of the family. It also indicated extensive interactions and new meanings in the family that are associated with changing traditional gender roles. The interactive features of image-based social networks have reproduced the new possibilities of the show for recreating and publishing new versions of the lives of Iranian families. Excessive inclination of families toward Media and the recognition as well as approval of others are two sides of the same coin. In order to express its identity and receive approval, the media-oriented family needs to show and construct its own narrative. The consequence of the foresaid dramatization is the focus on the short-term narratives, and the long-term goals of relationships are not usually represented in the self-representation of families.
Keywords
Iranian Family
Social Media
Instagram
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