|
The Effect of Internet
Usage on Relations between Members of the Iranian
Family in Tehran City
Lida Norouzi (1)
Anahita Arbabi (2)
Maryam Jamali (2)
(1) Department of Psychology, Ahvaz branch,
Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.
(2) Department of Psychology, Qazvin Branch,
Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran.
Correspondence:
Lida Norouzi,
Email: lidanorouzi54@gmail.com
|
Abstract
Iran has a society which is highly driven
by religious cultural values. Religion
and culture have both been apparent sustenance
to shape every area of Iranian`s daily
life at individual, familial and societal
levels. The instituting of modern technology,
particularly the internet, has a decisive
impact on the traditional and structural
nature of Iranian`s family life. This
study has examined such impact on families.
This is an exploratory study employing
quantitative data. Around 50 families
from different parts of Tehran (such as
Saadat Abaad, Gheytarieh, Shahriar, Dibagy
and Shahrak Gharb) have been recruited
by purposive sampling, and their views
and experiences on how the use of modern
technology influences their life, were
collected. The findings suggested that
internet use has produced a low husband-wife
relationship in family life. Findings
also suggest that there was a low relationship
between siblings in a family. The internet
use had also effects on Iranian families`
traditional culture and beliefs.
Key words:
internet usage, Iran, family, relationship,
culture
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Societies in the Persian Gulf have been undergoing
radical changes in various aspects of people`s
lives. Families are passing through a rapid
transition that affects functions and relationships
among members. The internet is a powerful tool
that has shaped the performance of various fields
including communication, business, politics,
and education. There is no doubt that the Internet
is virtually everywhere and has dramatically
altered the way we live. It is rapidly growing
not only in the industrialized countries but
also in the developing world. As a result, the
role of the internet in our daily lives has
expanded rapidly to the degree that many of
us have become dependent on it, if not addicted
to it (1). As is the case elsewhere in the world,
the use of the Internet has become an important
element of life in Iran, opening doors to allow
people to interact freely. While any technology
can be put to good or bad use depending on the
user, many Iranian`s families use their computers
for multiple purposes in an effort to search
out materials they need or are interested in
without major challenges. Because relationships
among family members are essential to the maintenance
of kinship family ties and reflect respect,
compassion, and love, it will become increasingly
important to re-examine the impact of the internet
usage on Iranian families. This study delves
into the effect of Internet usage on the family
relationships in Tehran city, focusing on relationships
between spouses, parents, children, and between
the children themselves.
The statement of the Problem
The family is a dynamic social system that has
structure, functions, roles and authority patterns.
The way the system operates and adapts to change
affects the relationships within it, and it
is affected by external and internal factors.
The Internet is one of several important factors
that affect relationships among the family members.
Hence, this study attempts to highlight this
new technology that has entered most households
in order to study the effect of internet usage
on relationships among the members of Iranian
families.
The Aim of the study
This study aims to study the effect of internet
usage on relationships among the members of
Iranian families including relations between
spouses, their children, and the children themselves.
It also will provide through recommendations,
optimal ways to deal with this new technology.
Objectives
This study will determine the effect of internet
usage on the family relationships, family’s
budget and children’s educational achievement,
incorporating its positive and negative effects,
religiously, morally, and socially. This can
be done through the recognition of certain social
and economical characteristics of the research
group, studying the nature of internet usage
in Iranian families’ place, time, period
of usage, within individual or collective applications,
reasons for usage, and most-visited websites
on the net, identifying the level of organizing
the internet’s usage and the amount of
monitoring imposed by the user and members of
his family.
Research Questions
The study has the following three research questions
to derive answers to satisfy its objectives
1. What is the nature of using internet
by members of the family?
2. What are the effects of internet usage
in shaping relations of members of family?
3. What are the effects of internet usage
on other areas of daily life of family members?
The family is a social system that has “a
collective identity,” which is the “result
of shared recollections of togetherness that
are created as family members spend time together
in shared meals, games, and chatting”(2).Communication
is “a symbolic, transactional process or
the process of creating and sharing meanings”
(3) and it plays a significant role in the relationship
between individuals for the functioning of a
family or household. Families that spend time
together “in common activities enjoy a
higher quality of communication” (2). Family
communication is essential to any family and
household as it “plays a significant role
in the relationship between family leisure and
family functioning” (3).
The internet is a new form of online interaction
that enhances “offline relationships”
(4). Furthermore, Smith et al. (2009) found
that the internet is a way of increasing “interaction
with family members and closeness to friends.”
In saying this, however, the frequency of daily
internet use by adolescents plays a vital role
in the quality of their relationships with parents
and friends (5). Mesch (2006) found that adolescents
who have low internet usage had better relationships
with parents and friends than those who have
high internet use (2). A great number of studies
on internet Usage have handled and recycled
factors like time and age. Studies of (6) and
(7) analysed such factors respectively. The
Social context and how its variables impact
family relations have been less seldom analysed.
Family life with an eye to internet Use over
a two-year period was screened by Kraut R et
al(8). It was found that interaction was the
main purpose both mothers and fathers and their
children opted for. This had happened less often
before the people had the facility available
at home. Although the outcome might show an
impact on familial relationships in a subsequent
study, this concern didn’t continue to
persist (8). In another study of Orleans and
Laney (7), at the age of 8-17, 32 children were
observed with their parents. They scarcely communicated
as they used their computers three times with
sessions of no less than one hour of time. Children
communicated together in as much as 65% of the
time they went online. Different sexes used
the computers differently: females used the
computer instrumentally while use by males was
more integrative (7).
In a study by Livingstone (9), it was found
that only 6% of parents were concerned with
their children’s use of computers and the
internet. Parents were far more concerned with
other concerns and standards. Findings show
that parents were more concerned with other
threats to their children’s well-being
than with computer and internet use; 6% but
around 50% of the parents were reported to have
rules for internet use. Differently, children
have only around half of those restrictions.
This signifies the necessity for closer observation
and data to explain the behavior of both parties
inside the households.
The contextual nature of parent’s internet
concerns compared with their concerns with other
aspects of life illustrates the importance of
studying the Internet in context to provide
a more complete understanding of how the technology
fits with other aspects of family life. When
the Internet is studied in isolation, it is
easy to misunderstand how it fits with other
aspects of family life and might distort its
significance and influence. These studies provide
a glimpse into the variety of ways that the
internet may affect relationships in families.
Whether they have a positive or negative impact
on family interactions is a complicated question
that requires more research and the consideration
of what and how household technologies, namely,
the internet might affect issues such as family
communication, and socialization in general.
Social actualities of family life lend themselves
to having better understanding of whether or
not internet use can have any impact on family
relations, and if any, whether similar impact(s)
have certain trends and if they influence family
communication and socialization in general.
Another important research trend is whether
this facility can help family members; communication
between members, distant or inbound members,
order generations, social problems such as divorce,
doing office work or even household education.
It’s time to start to explore questions
relevant to household relationships such as
maintaining relationships with distant and inbound
family members, doing family work and education
for a better understanding of modern family
socialization. It is time to consider the ways
family members employ the internet in all family
affairs. New internet users seem to confirm
that the internet might be relevant to withdrawal
from socialization (10). This actuality returned
to normal after a period of 2-3 years of use.
In another study with a different sample, the
same researchers added more variables and a
wider spectrum of social measures. This time,
findings showed that the number of close and
distant social contacts as well as the in-person
communication with family and friends increased.
The result fostered the assumption that the
facility had a positive impact on the maintenance
of social networks.
In support of this, other researchers have
concluded that the internet does maintain social
relations. Internet users at home were reported
to use it for friend and family communication.
Moreover, and in another study, interpersonal
relationships were reported to be the why behind
sending and receiving e-mail messages (11).
The number of those who used this facility for
this end was twice as many as those who used
it for business or information. Franzen (12)
reported social relations were better maintained
due to the same application. Nearly two thirds
had more friend and family communication once
they had their e-mails functioning (6). The
internet fostered familial communication (13).
Overall, these findings suggest that the internet
has positive effects on family members’
ability to maintain socialization outside the
parameter of people’s own families.
This
is
an
exploratory
study
that
embarked
using
quantitative
data.
To
garner
rich
data,
to
meet
the
research
objectives
and
answer
the
research
questions
viably,
this
research
design
is
essential
for
this
study.
The
basic
aspects
pertaining
to
the
methodology
of
this
study
are:
research
population,
research
area,
sampling,
data
collection
and
data
analysis,
as
described
in
this
chapter.
Research
population
The
research
population
of
this
study
is
families
living
in
Tehran.
These
families
are
structured
in
a
basically
tradition
manner.
However,
they
are
today
increasingly
becoming
users
of
modern
technology
to
fulfill
their
needs.
This
use
of
technology
has
been
apparently
impacting
their
oldest
traditional
family
life
today
in
the
region.
Sampling
Some
two
hundred
(200)
families
were
included
in
this
study.
They
were
recruited
from
Tehran.
A
purposive
sampling
was
employed
to
recruit
them.
Apart
from
this,
separate
recruitment
criteria
were
also
applied
during
their
selection.
The
criteria
were
one
or
both
members
of
a
spouses
unit
(husband
or
wife)
must
use
the
Internet
and
at
least
one
of
their
children
(if
they
had
any)
must
also
use
the
internet.
Rational
for
sample
The
researchers
found
that
the
purposive
sampling
was
sufficiently
viable
for
this
study.
This
is
because
this
sampling
was
widely
recognized
in
social
sciences
as
a
most
efficient
tool
to
derive
reliable
and
rich
data
and
articulate
the
real
picture
and
gravity
of
any
issue/phenomenon
in
the
society
(Dolores
&
Tongco,
2007).
Data
collection
Data
were
collected
from
all
200
participants
in
the
study
by
questionnaires.
Three
types
of
questionnaires
were
set
by
the
researchers
themselves.
Type
1
was
for
the
husband,
Type
2
for
the
wife
and
Type
3
for
the
children.
All
three
types
of
questionnaires
were
distributed
to
respective
participants
and
data
was
collected.
Participants
were
asked
to
freely
share
their
experience
of
internet
usage
in
daily
life.
Type
one
questionnaires
found
178
of
200
husbands
to
be
internet
users.
Type
two
questionnaires
showed
that
133
of
200
wives
were
internet
users.
Meanwhile,
Type
3
questionnaires
suggested
that
out
of
200
children
in
families,
187
were
serious
internet
users.
Data
analysis
The
data
were
analysed
with
a
computer-guided
analytical
system.
The
Statistical
Package
of
Social
Science
(SPSS)
program
was
applied
to
ensure
descriptive
statistics
(such
as
arithmetic
mean,
standard
deviation,
frequency
distribution
and
percentages
as
a
method
to
display
basic
variables.
Apart
from
this,
Berelson’s
coefficient
of
correlation
and
Chi-square
test
were
also
applied
to
present,
manage,
and
protect
data
in
the
study.
The
findings
of
the
study
were
split
into
five
major
categories
based
on
data
derived
from
all
participants.
They
include:
socio-economic
demographic
characteristics
of
participants,
the
nature
of
internet
usage,
the
internet’s
influence
on
families,
advantages
and
disadvantages
of
internet
usage
for
families
and
the
statistical
correlation
between
the
research
variables.
Social
and
Economical
characteristics
of
the
Research
Group
•
54.5%
of
the
fathers
were
between
the
ages
of
40-50,
and
45.5%
of
mothers
were
between
the
ages
of
30-40.
Children
were
aged
between
15
and
20;
they
represented
42%
of
the
total
participants.
•
Regarding
the
education
status
of
participants,
52%
of
fathers,
49%
of
mothers,
and
47.7%
of
children
were
holders
of
a
degree.
•
Among
participants,
65%
of
fathers
and
48.5%
mothers
were
public
employees.
•
Regarding
their
income
level,
31%
of
families
had
a
monthly
income
of
RO
1,000-1,500,
while
39%
of
them
received
above
RO
1,500
monthly.
The
Data
Related
to
the
Internet
•
78.5%
of
families
had
at
least
one
computer
connected
to
the
internet.
All
families
had
a
unique
place
for
the
computer
in
their
homes.
•
92.1%
of
fathers,
98.5%
of
mothers,
and
97.9%
of
children
listed
the
home
as
their
prime
internet
access
point.
•
35.4%
of
fathers,
18%
of
mothers,
and
32.6%
of
children
had
a
private
computer
connected
to
the
internet.
Meanwhile,
the
findings
showed
that
78.6%
of
fathers,
85.7%
of
mothers,
and
80.3%
of
children
used
the
internet
in
the
company
of
others.
•
The
findings
suggested
77.5%
of
fathers,
88%
of
mothers,
and
68.4%
of
children
used
the
internet
3
hours
per
a
day,
while
the
usage
among
73.6%
of
fathers,
75.2%
of
mothers,
and
75.9%
of
children
was
an
unspecified
period
of
time.
•
Findings
also
indicated
that
most
respondents
just
surf
the
web
jumping
from
one
page
to
another.
Using
e-mail
came
next.
It
became
clear
that
the
primary
reason
for
the
internet
usage
was
entertainment,
and
secondly
education.
The
most
visited
web
sites
by
our
research
group
were
news
sites,
following
online
forums.
•
According
to
findings,
half
of
families
were
organizing
the
usage
of
the
internet
and
monitor
the
user
enough.
Influence
of
the
Internet
on
the
Family
Findings
suggested:
•
92.4%
of
husbands
reported
low
relations
with
their
wives
and
this
inadequate
relation
was
experienced
by
69.1%
of
wives
with
their
husbands.
Meanwhile,
6.8%
of
husbands
and
23.6%
of
wives
felt
that
the
influence
of
the
internet
is
average.
And
on
the
other
side,
0.7%
of
husbands
and
7.3%
of
wives
thought
that
the
influence
was
high.
•
When
it
came
to
parents-child
relations,
the
report
from
78.6%
of
the
parents
and
89.8%
of
children
was
that
the
internet
had
not
influenced
their
relationships
in
any
way.
However,
17.1%
of
the
parents
and
8.9%
of
children
felt
its
influence
to
be
significant.
Findings
showed
that
a
low
percentage
of
subjects
felt
the
internet
impacted
the
relationships
between
the
parents
and
children,
with
just
4.2%
of
parents
and
1.2%
of
children
responding
in
this
manner.
•
For
the
relationships
between
children
and
the
family,
84.8%
of
children
responded
that
the
internet’s
effect
on
their
relationships
with
siblings
was
low.
Meanwhile,
12.4%
of
them
felt
that
the
effect
was
average.
A
high
level
of
internet
use
was
reported
among
just
2.7%
of
them.
•
Financially,
39%
of
husbands,
38.5%
of
wives,
and
44.5%
of
children
felt
that
internet
usage
had
no
effect
on
the
family
budget.
•
For
the
impact
of
internet
usage
on
their
children’s
education,
67.9%
of
fathers,
and
63.1%
of
mothers
found
neither
positive
nor
negative
influence.
Advantages
and
Disadvantages
of
the
Internet
Advantages
Findings
of
the
study
showed
that
the
internet
granted
better
access
to
educational
information.
However,
such
information
was
mostly
unrelated
to
curriculum.
Many
of
the
respondents
claimed
the
internet
provided
them
with
good
opportunities
to
interact
with
other
people
around
the
world
who
have
the
same
interest
of
communicating.
Respondents
also
stated
that
the
internet
was
a
vehicle
for
them
to
purchase
what
they
wanted
and
sell
what
they
had.
It
was,
according
to
respondents,
serving
them
to
acquire
further
knowledge
on
multiple
aspects
in
their
daily
life,
such
as
religion,
culture,
tourism,
important
locations,
and
different
people
around
the
world.
For
respondents,
the
internet
has
been
a
powerful
tool
to
disseminate
important
information
and
circulate
different
media
news
and
reports
on
every
area
of
life.
Most
respondents
completely
agreed
that
the
internet
gives
its
users
the
ability
to
find
information
without
any
supervision.
Disadvantages
About
half
of
the
respondents
(46%
husbands,
49%
wives,
and
52.5%
children)
complained
that
the
internet
was
being
used
to
access
unpopular
or
unethical
things
like
pornography.
Another
half
of
respondents
(55.5%
husbands,
63.5%
wives,
and
67%
children)
on
the
other
hand
reported
that
some
people
employ
the
internet
to
have
relations
with
the
opposite
sex.
In
both
cases,
the
percentages
are
comparatively
high
in
society
which
is
driven
by
religious
values,
beliefs,
social
norms,
and
people’s
behaviours.
A
relatively
high
number
of
respondents
viewed
the
internet
as
influencing
Iranian
society’s
religious
values
and
ethical
principles
negatively.
According
to
a
considerable
number
of
respondents
(24.7%
husbands,
15.8%
wives,
and
35.8%
children),
the
internet
use
was
discouraging
people
from
performing
their
religious
obligation
on
time.
For
example,
as
a
result
of
internet
use,
people
were
forgoing
their
prayers
at
their
local
mosque,
which
is
an
obligation
in
Islam.
The
Statistical
Correlation
between
the
Research
Variables
Although
studying
the
relations
between
some
independent
variables
and
the
effect
of
internet
usage
on
family
relations
as
dependent
variables,
the
findings
showed:
•
There
was
a
spiritual
correlated
relation
between
the
sex
of
the
couple
and
the
effect
of
internet
usage
on
the
relationship.
•
There
was
a
correlation
between
the
period
of
time
the
husbands
spend
online
and
the
effect
of
internet
usage
on
the
relationship
between
the
couple.
•
There
was
a
correlation
relation
between
the
period
of
time
children
spend
online
and
the
effect
of
internet
usage
on
relations
between
parents
and
children
from
the
parents’
point
of
view.
•
There
was
an
inverse
correlation
between
the
level
of
organizing
the
usage
of
the
internet
and
the
amount
of
monitoring
imposed
on
the
children
from
the
parents’
point
of
view.
Through
investigating
the
relation
between
some
independent
variables
and
the
period
of
time
spent
online
as
dependant
variables,
results
show:
•
There
was
a
correlation
between
the
users’
sex
and
the
period
of
time
they
spend
online.
•
There
is
an
inverse
correlation
between
the
age
of
fathers
and
mothers
and
the
period
of
time
they
spend
online.
•
There
was
a
direct
correlation
between
the
children’s
age
and
the
time
they
spend
online.
•
There
was
an
inverse
correlation
between
fathers’
educational
level
and
the
period
of
time
they
spend
online.
•
There
was
a
direct
correlation
between
children’s
educational
statuses
and
the
period
of
time
they
spend
online.
•
There
was
a
direct
correlation
between
the
family’s
monthly
income
and
the
period
of
time
the
fathers
spent
online.
•
There
was
a
correlation
between
the
level
of
organizing
the
usage
of
the
internet
and
the
amount
of
monitoring
imposed
on
the
children
and
the
period
of
time
they
spend
online.
By
studying
the
correlations
between
the
level
the
family’s
monthly
income
as
an
independent
variable
and
the
level
of
organizing
the
usage
of
the
internet
and
the
amount
of
imposed
monitoring
as
a
dependent
variable,
the
following
result
emerged.
•
There
was
inverse
correlation
between
the
family’s
monthly
income
and
the
level
of
organizing
the
children’s
usage
of
the
internet
and
the
amount
of
monitoring
imposed
on
them.
Since
the
emergence
of
the
internet,
the
effect
of
the
internet
for
Iranians
has
become
apparent.
This
study
reveals
some
of
the
effects
of
internet
usage
on
relations
between
members
of
the
Iranian
family,
focusing
on
relationships
between
spouses,
parents,
children,
and
the
children
themselves.
Overall,
findings
from
the
study
show
that
half
of
the
families
had
at
least
one
computer
connected
to
the
internet.
Findings
also
indicated
that
most
respondents
just
surf
the
web,
jumping
from
one
page
to
another.
Using
e-mail
came
next.
It
became
clear
that
the
primary
reason
for
the
Internet
usage
was
entertainment,
and
secondly
education.
The
most
visited
web
sites
by
our
research
group
were
news
sites,
following
online
forums.
Findings
of
the
study
showed
that
the
internet
granted
better
access
to
educational
information.
However,
such
information
was
mostly
unrelated
to
curriculum.
The
respondents
claimed
the
internet
provided
them
with
good
opportunities
to
interact
with
other
people
around
the
world
who
have
the
same
interest
of
communicating.
Respondents
also
stated
that
the
internet
was
a
vehicle
for
them
to
purchase
what
they
wanted
and
sell
what
they
had.
It
was,
according
to
respondents,
serving
them
to
acquire
further
knowledge
on
multiple
aspects
of
their
daily
life,
such
as
religion,
culture,
tourism,
important
locations,
and
different
people
around
the
world.
For
respondents,
the
internet
has
been
a
powerful
tool
to
disseminate
important
information
and
circulate
different
media
news
and
reports
on
every
area
of
life.
Most
respondents
completely
agreed
that
the
internet
gives
its
users
the
ability
to
find
information
without
any
supervision.
About
half
of
the
respondents
complained
that
the
internet
was
being
used
to
access
unpopular
or
unethical
things
like
pornography.
Another
half
of
respondents
on
the
other
hand
reported
that
some
people
employ
the
internet
to
have
relations
with
the
opposite
sex.
In
both
cases,
the
percentages
are
comparatively
high
in
a
society
which
is
driven
by
religious
values,
beliefs,
social
norms,
and
people’s
behaviours.
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RE.
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Internet
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2006;6(2):119-38.
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Zabriskie
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young
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Thousand
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Dimmick
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Journal
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S,
Rainie
L,
Larsen
E,
Horrigan
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A,
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