A Comparative Study of the Impact of Virtual Social Networks on Marital Relationships With an Emphasis on Gender(Case: Married People in Tehran)

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between virtual social networks and marital relationships with an emphasis on gender. The research method was survey and the sample size was 340 married people in Tehran. The Samples were selected by multi-stage cluster method using systematic random for each cluster. Findings showed that the average attitude of men in the variables of sexual satisfaction, intimacy between couples and conflict resolution between couples is higher than women. The mean difference observed between men and women only in the variables of sexual satisfaction and intimacy between couples is significant but not significant. Findings also showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between women's use of virtual social networks and sexual satisfaction, intimacy between couples and conflict resolution. But there is no significant relationship between men's use of virtual social networks and sexual satisfaction, intimacy between couples and conflict resolution. The amount of women using time of virtual social networks explains 10.1% of women's sexual satisfaction, and Dimensions of use and presence with real identity in virtual social networks explain 11.9% of intimacy between couples and 16.2% of conflict resolution between couples. According to the research results, the duration of women's membership in social networks and presence with real identity has a positive relationship with the quality of marital relations and improves their performance.