Online social networks and their Impact on Political Participation in Iran

Undoubtedly, the expansion of participation and competition among social groups in political lifeis one of the major goals of political development. Meanwhile, given the significant changes taken place in the socio-political life of societies, the traditional tools affecting political participation have somewhat weakened. Today, social networking sites are consideredas one of the most important types of cyber social networksthat affect political participation in various societies. The present article aims to examine the impact ofonline social networks on the political participation of their users.