Iranian Journal of Sociology

Abstract The internet is a new medium with a different nature than its predecessors while at the same time it contains almost all of their functions within its reach. Thus, the internet brings about social changes more considerably among the young generation who have, as in elsewhere, proved to be the primary internet users in Iran. This situation offers the possibility of shaping a globally recognized 'Y generation' in Iran. The members of Y generation are those who have become acquainted with new Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) from their early teenage and now are moving towards the end of their twenties. In the present article, we will see how effectively the Iranian youth have exploited the communicative capabilities of internet. Based on particular characteristics of the Iranian society, different social groups found internet a suitable site for self-presentation and establishment of communication networks. To achieve their social and cultural ends, Iranian women have enjoyed the facilities of the internet - sometimes even over-reaching the men in their usage. The internet has paved the way for the emerging of new kinds of norm-breakings which could not be dealt with by traditional methods. By the recent years, the internet has been exploited as an effective medium for promotion and diffusion of religion among the Iranian youth. This study, using the methodology of meta-analysis, reveals that the Internet has been influential, if not to say central, in shaping an 'Iranian Y generation'. Furthermore, we have elaborated the characteristics of this Iranian Y generation.