Analyzing the Contexts and Strategies of Male Users in the Cyberspace for Finding Spouse in Kerman City

In the new form of social relations, Habermasian’s ‘public sphere’ has been embedded in ‘cyberspace’. Online social platforms have created an alternative to the public sphere that has led to the recognition of individuals, the definition of social interactions, and even the creation of love among members of the society. The impact of the internet on the social and personal life of users is important in several ways. Media consumption at home has significantly changed in recent years. New forms of media and media-related devices such as iPads, tablets, laptops, and smart phones have become common among families. Internet, digital cables, Wifi, Wimax, application software, and portable devices have created a world in which users’ contents are accessible wherever and whenever they want. With respect to the above discussion, it is clear that, since the introduction of cyber communication in 2008 as well as the installation and use of recently-released applications such as Telegram, WhatsApp and Instagram, which have provided the bases for the formation of a revolution in modern communications, it can be argued that the present study can be one of the newest researches in this area. In addition, Iran ranks the first among telegram users among 57 Islamic countries. Despite the increasing use of Iranian users, few studies have been done on this issue.

The current study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the semantic implications of married men who were active in the cyberspace to find a spouse through the grounded theory approach. To this end, 11 users were selected through theoretical sampling. The data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews and MAX Q DA 12. Two main sampling strategies in this study were purposive and theoretical samplings. The former was used to select participants with diverse characteristics. Theoretical sampling as one of the most common methods of sampling in the Grounded Theory was used for directing the general process of sampling via the sampling of the concepts during collecting and analyzing the data. The situation, people, time, and place were considered during theoretical sampling. Making comparisons in this process helped to diversify the categories and improve the theory. According to the logic of theoretical changes and the maximum sampling, the criteria for the entry of participants were as follows:•The participant must be a married man.
• Their activities in the cyberspace are devoted to romantic conversations with men.
• The participant must be older than 20 years of age.
• The participant must be online in virtual marriage forums during the last 6 months.
The participants remained in the study until they had been inclined to cooperate with the researcher, in case of the absence of any of these conditions, the participants were excluded from the study.

Based on the data analysis, three causal conditions including the crisis of meaning, diversity, and pleasure along with three contextual conditions including differentiation, separation of values, and preservation of independence have created a particular type of interaction. The interactive conditions of users had two main aspects including resistance to the ethical system of the society and the agreed economy in the family relationship system. The results of this study showed that the goal of a significant number of users to sign up and join these sites was to find an alternative structure for the predominant form of marriage in Kerman.In this study, the existence of the empty lives, a monotonous atmosphere at home, and routine relationships have led unemployed men to become more familiar with online dating than other groups. The majority of the participants referred to the disagreement of their wives with online gaming and entertainment because of their potentially addictive nature and online infidelities. Thus, anonymity was used as a very important strategy to facilitate online sexual activities among committed partners in committed relationships. According to the reports of the participants, ‘secret cyber entertainment’ has much more excitement and variety. They often want to hide their real identity to be safe from family and cyberspaces have become an alternative public arena for interaction, courtship, and love.