The Impact of Social Networks on the National Identity (Case Study: Isfahan University Students)

Evaluation of the youth national Identity as the most vital, the most legitimate and the most common type of collective identity, and the study of the factors influencing it, is one of the issues that have been the constant concern of sociologists and political thinkers. The main concern in this respect is to preserve and enhance the citizens’, especially the youth, sense of belonging and commitment to concepts such as history, culture, state and the political system. One of the things that have come scarcely into theoretical and empirical examination is the impact of social networking on a National Identity. Networks intensely touch the intra-group and inter-group interactions and communications of people and seem to influence national identity and national consolidation. This study aims to investigate the issue of whether social networks can affect students’ national identity and how much they do so. The method used is survey and data were collected using questionnaires distributed among a sample of 294 university students in 2013-2014. Their reliability was calculated in formal methods, and their validity was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and finally, they were analyzed by 22SPSS software. The findings of this study suggest that there is strong and significant relationship between inter-group networks and four dimensions of national identity, namely, the socio-cultural, historical, political and territorial identity. The abovementioned networks have more impact on the socio-cultural, political, historical, and territorial identity, respectively. Also, despite the impact of intragroup social networks on political and socio-cultural identity, the total value did not confirm any correlation between students’ national identity and intra-group networks