The Role of Virtual Networks in the Development of Civil Society in Iran

This research is to identify the positive and negative role of virtual social networks in the development of civil society in Iran and the using rate of each one among civil activists in Tehran. This research was of a qualitative and quantitative mixture, and the research method was deep interviewing and scrolling. The results of the Research show that interviewers determined 12 functions: communication, news, promotional, educational, mobilization, campaigning, replacing official media, strengthening the social power of institutions, transparency, streamlining, networking and measuring public opinion, and 10 dysfunctions: inaccurate news, information overflow, massive virtual mood, conversational bubble, celebertization‏, the existence of false correlations, conflict in cyberspace and recede from Real civil activity, the destruction of the privacy of civil activists, the dominance of virtual participation, and the means of presentation and self-expression, for the role of virtual social networks in the development of civil society in Iran. Of these, civil activists have mentioned communication, news and educational function as the most functions of the social networks and messengers and function of public opinion, transparency and networking, as the least functions among civil activists in Tehran. They also have mentioned Incorrect and rumored news overflow information and bubble conversation as the most dysfunction and self-expression and celebertization in cyberspace as the least dysfunctions.