Semantic Developments of Iranian Home and Family in Social Media by Focusing on Instagram

In the last decade, social media in Iran have found an important role in sharing information and photos among family members. Due to the presence and activity of family members on various platforms, including the Instagram social network, family relationships that were not possible to reach the public sphere in the past have become possible to represent. The main question of this research is whether the presence of Iranian family members (spouses) in social networks (focusing on Instagram) has created new meanings of concepts such as home, family, intimacy (romantic relationship), privacy, and family rituals?In this research, 700 Instagram posts and stories from 21 family pages have been studied using the social semiotics method, using Finch's display theory and Giddens' views on power relations in the family. The findings show several key issues related to changes in family rituals, Interactions, and family boundaries, which are structured under two overarching themes of "building a home and family" and "interaction and meaning in the family". Other themes include "nuclear family", "extended family ritual", "extended female power" and "extended family privacy".