The Effect of Virtual Leisure and Computer Games on Teenager's Religious Identity

Changes made by leisure styles in Iranian society, and growing tendency of Iranian teenagers towards digital leisure have led to changes in their religious behavior and attitudes. The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect of online computer games on teenager's religiosity, religious identity, and the type of their relationships with their families. Following this aim, Castelle's theory, Sherry Turkle's theory of The Second Self, Thurlow's theory of Johari Window, and Mask of Identity theory of Branda Dunt, Stark, and Shojaei Zand have been used in theoretical bases. This article is the result of a research done on 3800 female high school students and 15-17-year-old male students in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, Ahwaz, Mashhad, Shiraz, Karaj, and Rasht in 2013. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between online and computer games and the religious identity and level of religiosity of teenage boys and girls.