The Issue of Adolescent Girls' Presence in Virtual Social Networks with Emphasis on Parent-Child Relationships

The present study was conducted with the aim of understanding the issue of adolescent girls' presence in virtual social networks with emphasis on parent-child relationships. Applying the qualitative research method, this study collected the data through semi-structured interviews with thirty high school girls in Qom (from three high schools in three different regions) in the academic year 2019-2020 according to the typical and purposeful sampling. After coding the interviews, the results were collected in two general categories of family and personal detriments. The results indicated that the presence of adolescent girls in virtual social networks has posed serious challenges to the relationship between girls and their parents regarding the elements of authority and intimacy. Moreover, imposing conflicts between parents and children, challenging parental authority, violating parental dignity, reducing intimacy between parents and children, and degrading family values are among these challenges. The presence of girls in virtual social networks also causes personal harms, which provides the ground for challenging parental authority; furthermore, it entangles the relationship between adolescent girls and their parents with challenges.