Designing a Pattern of Various Virtual Social Networking Functions in Ethnic Intercultural Communication

The purpose of the study is to Design a Pattern for Various functions of virtual social networks in ethnic intercultural communication. For this purpose, after reviewing theoretical and empirical backgrounds, the paper was conducted using qualitative method and deep interview. The research data were reached theoretical saturation using deep interview with 20 students from different ethnic groups among universities of Tehran who have been selected by purposeful sampling. The data were analyzed using the Thematic analysis method and then a conceptual model of network measurement was developed. The findings showed that the pattern of virtual social networking functions in ethnic intercultural communication is diverse and consists of three broad categories: Ethnic intercultural effects (including organized themes: cultural sympathy, emotional stability, social initiative, flexibility and mental openness), ethnic identity (including cognitive element, emotional element and value element), and ethnocentrism (including ethnic intolerance, extraneous threats and conflicts, and also intra-group correlations).