Globalized lifestyles through mass communication networks and its impact on Iranian national identity

This article examines the changes that are caused by mass communication networks in the lifestyle of people in the society. The main question: What effect have the aforementioned changes had on the national identity of Iranians? Based on the hypothesis of this article, lifestyle is practically a platform that reflects individual and collective identity. In this research, by validating the category of globalization of the value system, mass communication networks are considered the most important tools in order to realize this category. According to the findings of the research, the Iranian national identity since the Islamic revolution has placed religion as one of the main foundations of the Iranian national identity and in line with the establishment of the Islamic nation. Meanwhile, mass communication networks have been effective in weakening the religious spirit and growing individualism. This effect is evident in the changes that are taking place in the current Iranian lifestyle. The result of the research showed that the consequence of the weakening of the national identity has actually strengthened the ethnic identity and reduced the political and social participation of Iranian citizens. This article is presented by referring to documents and library sources and using a qualitative analytical-descriptive method.
Keywords: Lifestyle, globalization, national identity, religious identity, mass communication networks
Introduction
At the first level of meaning, lifestyle seems to be a personal choice. But at a deeper level, it is the result of a person's interaction with the surrounding environment and being influenced by it. Also, there is a direct relationship between the lifestyle of the people of a group and the identity they consider for themselves. In fact, people show their identity through their lifestyle. Identity can be individual or collective. National identity is considered the most important form of collective identity in a political system because it plays a key role in the cohesion and harmony between the people of that society. Belonging to the national identity is a determining factor in creating a sense of commitment and participation in people towards their country. For this reason, it can be argued that in the policies that are made to shape the collective and national identity, an effort is made to implicitly program the lifestyle for them. It should be consistent with the considered identity. In the current century, which has started with the increasing dominance of communication technology, the relationships between people have expanded not at the local or even national level, but in a transnational way. Communication technology is known as the most important tool of globalization. With the help of this technology, a model or models for the life of a wide range of people are promoted, which do not match their cultural, social, family and religious origins. In the present study, the author's aim was to investigate the changes made in the lifestyle of Iranians and its impact on the category of national identity. In other words, the main question is how these changes have been able to challenge the national identity?
Methodology
In order to reach the result, the author collected library data and described and analyzed it with the help of researches in this field that have investigated the changes made by mass communication networks in the life of Iranian society in line with the subject of this article. As a result, this article is presented by referring to documents and library resources and using a qualitative analytical-descriptive method.
Result
The findings of the research emphasize this important statement that the emergence of communication technology and the expansion of mass communication networks are seriously changing the traditional forms of communication methods, actions, beliefs and convictions. In fact, these components are renewing and adapting themselves to the values ​​demanded in these networks. Nevertheless, among all these changing elements in the Iranian lifestyle, there are two core components that are closely related to the Iranian national identity; one is the growth of individualism and the second is the weakening of religious beliefs. These two components are particularly important for two reasons: first, both of them are the builders of people's insight about their lifestyle, and, secondly, both of them play an essential role in the formation of Iranian national identity. Since the victory of the Iranian revolution and the formation of the theocracy in Iran, the Iranian national identity as a Shia Muslim is considered one of the most important pillars of the identity of an Iranian citizen, an identity that actually follows the formation of the Islamic nation in a religious system. Here, the element of religion is not at all an abstract and object oriented to individual solitude, but it has an external appearance in all aspects of the social life of the citizens of the Islamic society. The formation of the identity of the Islamic nation in Iran today has made the identity of the Iranian citizen at the national level to be from any nation and group, to be built around the religious identity. As a result, what is called national identity is in direct interaction with religious identity.
Discussion and Conclusion
The result of the research indicates the fact that Iran, as a developing country, has experienced the consequences of communication technology in recent years to a large extent in its social and cultural structures. The changes made in structures such as family and kinship, hierarchical relationships between elders and younger ones, patterns of clothing, nutrition, spending time, new understanding of gender identities, cultural activities and religious practices are very tangible. On the other hand, the identity that many people show in this lifestyle is not always aligned with the characteristics of the Iranian national identity. The result of the research also showed that the consequence of the weakening of the national identity, on the one hand, has appeared in the form of strengthening the ethnic identity as an alternative to the national identity, and on the other hand, it has reduced the level of political and social participation of citizens.