An exploration of the fluid identity of Tehran youth in virtual networks; a Grounded theory

The present study seeks to study the identity of young people in Tehran, and an attempt was made to analyze the understanding and interpretation of these young people of fluid identity in the form of interpretive methodology and grounded theory. The methodological approach of this research is qualitative and grounded theory, the data collection techniques are in-depth and semi-structured interviews, and the sample size was 24 young people who were purposefully selected until theoretical saturation was reached. The theoretical coding method was used for data mining, which aims to achieve main and subcategories in order to set up a theoretical model. The results of the study show that the central phenomenon of fluid identity is (floating) which is based on causal conditions, background conditions, intervening conditions, and strategies. According to the findings of the present study, the seven main categories of fluidity of consumption, fluidity of needs, fluidity of individualism, fluidity of virtual hedonism, fluidity of body management, fluidity of blogging, and fluidity of relationships complement the chain of the paradigmatic model of the research. The main implication of the findings of this study is that young people in Tehran have a new understanding and interpretation of lifestyle in such a way that they are drawn towards a fluid (floating) identity.