Hosein Ebrahimabadi
Abstract
Information technology and its consequent virtual space are opening up a new sphere in psychological, sociological and cultural studies associated with the mutual effect of technology, culture and human beings in general, and the interaction of cyberspace and culture, identity and human relationships. ...
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Information technology and its consequent virtual space are opening up a new sphere in psychological, sociological and cultural studies associated with the mutual effect of technology, culture and human beings in general, and the interaction of cyberspace and culture, identity and human relationships. Recent studies in this field should be examined at least to realize whether the psychological and social outcomes and the pathology of virtual spaces are the result of the overflow of problems and issues of society and the real space into virtual space, and to decide if the challenges and the social problems in question are due to the development and growth of electronic media and virtual space? While describing and explaining the effect of culture, society and their consequent traditions on virtual spaces, relationships and their content, and examining the effect of virtual space on culture, social actions, identity, attitudes and individual and collective behavior, the present article stresses that considering the short history and the little experience of the interaction between human and information technology and virtual space, it seems too soon to speak decisively about the outcomes of information technology and virtual spaces. Therefore, two principles are suggested to be established in cultural and social research on cyberspace. First, in the study of virtual space, priorities should be identified correctly and one should not merely focus on the problems resulting from information and communication technology instead of dealing with fundamental issues. Second, both in the theoretical and the methodological aspects of studies on virtual space, in different social and cultural spheres, one cannot rely merely on traditional theories and method, and new methods, in terms of theory, methodology and tools, should be applied.
Social Sciences and Communications
M.A. Taleghani; S. Sharifi; M. Shahnoshi; R. Ebrahimzadeh Dastjerdi
Abstract
Managing cultural changes in the virtual space is inevitable since it is a place of conflict between power flows, especially the reputation system. Achieving desirable and sustainable cultural changes requires attention to changeability requirements. It means that ignoring these requirements can affect ...
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Managing cultural changes in the virtual space is inevitable since it is a place of conflict between power flows, especially the reputation system. Achieving desirable and sustainable cultural changes requires attention to changeability requirements. It means that ignoring these requirements can affect the process and content of changes. Based on this, the purpose of this article is to investigate and answer the question: What are the requirements of cultural changes through the fame of celebrities in the virtual space? The research is based on Husserl's descriptive phenomenology as well as Colaizzi's method (1978). The research population is those who are active in various fields of science, art, sports, and virtual space activism. Semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 people as a research sample using the criterion-dependent purposeful sampling method until the level of data saturation. The data were validated through external auditors, returning to the interviewees, and in-depth descriptions. The findings showed that the requirements of cultural changes through celebrities in the virtual space can be found at structural and content levels: in the dimensions of optimal networking, control of structural resistance, family changes, and social capital building in the form of structural requirements, and in the dimensions of cultural flow, cultural leadership and attention to social status in the form of content requirements. The results, in addition to showing the role of celebrities in cultural changes, emphasize the factors facilitating the influence of celebrity culture in the Iranian society.
