The Pathology of Social Networking in the Iranian Society and Developing Strategies for its Appropriate Usage

This study aims to identify the pros and cons as well as opportunities and threats of social networking in the Iranian society as well as seeks to develop strategies for its appropriate usage. This study has been conducted through using mixed-method as well as analytical-descriptive research based on SWOT method and questionnaires (as quantitative data) and interviews (as qualitative data. Statistical population includes academicians and executives who are totally 55 experts that 15 of them have been selected for doing interviews through using targeted improbable sampling method as well as 40 experts of the rest have been selected for filling questionnaires. SWOT, SPACE and QSPM methods were used for data processing. The findings show that the pros of social networking are to get information as well as a critical boost to users’morales but its cons are users’ safety principles inobservance for (social) networking. Its opportunity is local network operation with (an emphasis on) support-centered from the Iranian-Islamic culture. But its threats includes to change lifestyles as well as promote families separation as the most important social institution in the Iranian-Islamic culture. The most appropriate strategies are to use more qualitative as well as quantitative capacities of the Iranian users to develop religious, moral and cultural contents in domestic and foreign levels as well as more integration between major governmental and non-governmental institutions to increase users’ media as well as security knowledge of social networking.