Abstract
Networks and virtual spaces have today become indispensable tools for social interaction and citizen activities in Iran, and excessive use of them has been accompanied by rising harms and problems in Iranian society. Accordingly, the primary aim of this study is to identify the harms and issues associated with excessive use of networks and virtual spaces using a qualitative meta-synthesis approach. The study adopts an inductive qualitative meta-synthesis method for the period 2010–2024 (1389–1403 in the Iranian calendar). A non-probabilistic (intentional) sampling strategy was employed from 145 research documents; 69 research samples were selected based on entry criteria (presence of independent variables, validity and reliability of the study, publication in a reputable scientific journal, and findings derived from field research). The scientific sources include Nor-MGz (Noormeg), Magh Iran, IranDoc, and the Jihad Daneshgahi (Academic Centre for Education, Culture and Research) scientific database. Overall analysis of studies within the 2010–2024 timeframe indicates that excessive use of networks and virtual spaces leads to four categories of problems in Iranian society: 1) social problems (virtual differential association, diminished social control, weakened social cohesion and social bonds, reduced social participation, diminished salience of social support, suspicion and social mistrust, increased social deviance, promotion of deviance and family harms), 2) cultural problems (widespread unethical behavior and deviance, erosion of the Iranian-Islamic lifestyle, educational crisis and declining academic quality, media deviance, promotion of venomous leisure time, diminished family values, risky sexual behavior, reduced religious values, intergenerational gaps and conflict), 3) economic problems (heightened financial-economic problems, reduced job performance and productivity, emergence of crime and financial offenses, intensified consumerism and family extravagance), and 4) psychological problems (verbal violence, crisis of identity and unreal personality, learned aggression, isolation and withdrawal, sense of emptiness and deficiency, and emotional-insecurity).