Investigating the mediating role of political awareness in the relationship between the use of social media and vandalism in the citizens of Ilam province

With the spread of the so-called "network society", individuals in society became more and more integrated into an interconnected structure. This connection caused their behaviors to be influenced by this society in various aspects. In the meantime, not all of their behaviors are "normal" and "anomic" behaviors have been affected by these networks. In this study, we examine the effect of new social media including WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and Twitter on anomic behaviors. Social media use is an independent variable and vandalism is a dependent variable, and political awareness is considered a moderating variable. For this purpose, the views of the citizens of Ilam province in the fall and winter of 1400 were collected by a questionnaire. The statistical population of this study is residents aged 18 and over in Ilam province and using Cochran's formula and considering the acceptable sampling error, the sample size was estimated at 440 people. Data analysis was performed using the tools used in social science research (SPSS 23). The main hypothesis of the research is that the new media, while creating a common feeling of anomaly and anomie, provides the grounds for the formation of vandalism in Ilam. Findings show that the use of social media affects vandalism and social anomie. Also, political awareness, as a moderating variable, has prevented the use of social media from leading to or reducing vandalism.