NEW MEDIA PRACTICES IN IRAN: A MIXED METHODS STUDY

The aim of the study is to reveal the current state of Iran, which has more different structures thanother countries in terms of political, social and cultural, in the new media area. In the study, a mixedmethods research was conducted to reveal the existing situation and the mixed methods convergentparallel design was used in the research. The interview method, one of the qualitative researchmethods and the survey, one of the quantitative reasrch methods were used in the research. The sampleof the interview method is a senior official at the Ankara Embassy of Iran, who is selected by means ofpurposive sampling. The sample of the survey is 124 Iranian people, who are selected by means ofpurposive sampling method. According to the results obtained from the analysis of research data, thereare some restrictions in the new media environment in Iran, but most of the internet sites and socialnetworks can be accessible is in general. Restrictions of the Internet and new media in Iran are beingimplemented because of the ethical reasons, insecurity about foreign countries and the willingness ofthe country's government to prevent or control opponents. Despite partial restrictions, most of theIranian population access the internet and highly use the platforms of this virtual network.

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