Journal of Iranian Cultural Research

Journal of Iranian Cultural Research

Multi-layered lifeworld and digital agency: An analysis of identity construction among woman from Khurchan village on Instagram

Articles in Press

Document Type : Scientific Research Manuscript

Authors
Zahra Maher 1
Zahra Rahbar 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
2 M.A. Student in Strategic Management and Culture, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
10.22035/jicr.2027.3635.3846
Abstract
This qualitative study, employing a descriptive phenomenological approach, explores the lived experiences of rural women in their engagement with the Instagram platform. The primary objective is to understand the mechanisms through which these women construct, represent, and redefine their social identities at the intersection of digital agency and local structural constraints. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 women from the village of Khurchan, all of whom maintained active and public Instagram accounts, and were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step phenomenological method. The findings revealed an overarching theme of "multi-layered existence between local traditions and digital life," organized into seven main categories: digital lifeworld as an arena of agency and self-fulfillment; emotional and psychological tensions within a comparative space; boundary-setting, privacy, and digital ethics; networking, activism, and social bonding; the tension between individual agency and technological determinism; parental and gender role tensions in the digital age; and Instagram as a realm of escape and comfort. The results indicate that rural women of Khurchan, navigating the interplay between place-bound traditional structures and globalized digital logic, are crafting a paradoxical "multi-layered existence." Through practical wisdom and digital agency, and via complex processes of identity reflexivity, impression management, and livelihood strategizing, they are not only redefining their identity projects but also negotiating and reconstructing the rules of engagement within this emerging arena. The study underscores the necessity of understanding these complexities for any context-sensitive and inclusive policymaking aimed at bridging the digital divide and empowering rural women.

Keywords
Instagram
digital identity
rural Women
phenomenology
multi-layered lifeworld
Khurchan Village
Subjects
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Journal of Iranian Cultural Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 September 2027

  • Receive Date 14 February 2026
  • Revise Date 01 July 2026
  • Accept Date 02 August 2026