Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

The present study examines the role of virtual social networks in the evolution of communication patterns of young couples based on the lived experience of women in the city of Qom. Using the interpretive approach and qualitative method of grounded theory, the views of 51 young women were obtained using exploratory interviews. Purposive and snowball sampling continued until theoretical saturation was reached. The conceptual framework is based on Inglehart's theories of value transformation, Bal-Rokic and DeFlore's audience dependency, and Castells' network society. The findings show that the central phenomenon of the transformation of communication and value patterns among couples is due to their presence in virtual social networks. This phenomenon is shaped by the socio-cultural changes of the digital age and the functional challenges of the family. The attractiveness of social networks and psychosocial motivations are the basis for these changes the consequences of which are observed at individual, social, and family levels: These obvious consequences lead to fundamental and long-term changes in the communication and value patterns of couples; including excessive individualism and breaking with traditional structures, silent sexual revolution, crisis in gender identity and roles, and consumerism.