Nearly 87% of 18-29 year-olds in Tehran use at least one social networking app.
Using social media for communication is among the most common activities of today’s adolescents and adults. It is important to devise a social networking policy to prevent potential social harm that may result from excessive use of online apps, said Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Abolhassan Firouzabadi.
A survey in June indicated that Tehran has the most number of young users compared to other provinces and male users dominated online services by 63%. Moreover, single adults are more active on social media. Viber, Line, Whatsapp and Telegram are the most frequently used apps, reports the Persian language newspaper ‘Iran’.
Despite the benefits of social networking such as allowing the youth to accomplish many important academic tasks, stay connected with friends and family, make new friends, share information and exchange ideas, it could be a double-edged sword and give rise to risks of cyber bullying and online harassment. It is easy to be taken advantage of and therefore, it is important that the virtual world be supervised and controlled by a set of strong rules and policies, he added.
In the survey, 75% of the respondents said social networks help improve knowledge and information on various issues, 65% considered social networking harmful as it could lead to access of personal information and 67% agreed that social networking reduces parental control over children.
Firouzabadi said the ministry would introduce policies to take advantage of the virtual space in line with promoting employment and business, while controlling and preventing potential social harm.
