In the context of sociological understanding, ethnicity is considered one of the fundamental components in comprehending the concept of nationality in contemporary society. Therefore, an ethnic group refers to a people who are socially distinguished as a result of their shared cultural heritage.

Culture and cultural heritage can be considered as one of the most important sources of human identity. Individuals and groups find their identity through the use of cultural elements and components, as these elements have the remarkable ability to fulfill the human need for distinction and integration within their own community. Having a cohesive identity allows individuals to take a unified stance towards events and incidents in their surroundings, using a common set of criteria.

With this brief introduction, questions arise in the mind; what role has identity played in the national and ethnic cohesion of Iran? Can a multi-ethnic society not have a unified, influential and effective cultural and social identity? Is the formation of identity a purely gradual and historical process that does not require intervention and planning?

There are various factors involved in the formation of identity; such as culture, customs and traditions, gender and language. The most important factor in this regard is undoubtedly language, which serves not only as the main means of communication, but also as a tool for socialization of individuals and the main tool for thinking and processing data received from the outside world and materializing them through the cognitive system.

Cultural identity refers to an individual’s perception of themselves, which is acquired through formal and informal membership in groups that transmit and instill knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes, traditions, and ways of life. In fact, cultural identity includes historical perspectives with a focus on the transfer of knowledge and values between different generations.

On the other hand, the formation of individual identity and its role and importance among psychologists, particularly Erikson, has been emphasized. It seems that cultural identity is formed along with individual identity. As Erikson states, identity is a fundamental organizing principle that continuously grows and develops throughout our lives. Identity includes our experiences, relationships with others, beliefs, and values that we define for ourselves, as well as our memories, and all of these things shape our mental perception of ourselves. Identity helps create a permanent image of the “self” and even if new aspects of the “self” emerge or are strengthened over time, it remains relatively stable.

After a general examination of identity and its types, the fundamental issue that is severely lacking in various educational and cultural aspects of the country – at executive and policy-making levels – is the concept of identity. Identity refers to the formation of the individual concept of being Iranian as part of us – Iran – who also have interactions with each other. The process and tools for constructing individual and cultural identity mainly take place through informal (family and community) and formal (educational system) education processes. During this process, a wide range of linguistic, cognitive, symbols and representations systems come into play.

However, from a sociological perspective, ethnic groups, by possessing specific cultural identities, have a significant impact on the formation and sustainability of their ethnicity in both individual and collective dimensions. In general, eight common indicators, such as belief in common ancestors, shared historical background, shared land, language and religion, shared living spaces, common customs and traditions, shared values, and a sense of belonging to a unified group, are considered as criteria for determining an ethnic group.

Iranian identity is understood as a diverse element of various ethnic groups, which, like Iranian carpets, are made up of small pieces and complement each other in their harmonious design. Iran is home to various ethnic groups. Throughout the centuries, alongside the Persian language – which has been the literary and administrative language of the entire Iranian territory – various dialects have always been used in different regions of the country.

“Given the unique and authentic differences among various cultures in Iran, sometimes this rare and golden opportunity of multiculturalism leads to a threat or at least a national humiliation. There have been many cases where national television has caused apologies from one of the ethnic groups or dialects in Iran. The recent case of a teenage Azerbaijani (Turkish) language and accent that went viral on social media and resulted in thousands of memes is just one example. When the national television – which is one of the main pillars of creating and preserving collective identity, unity, and national coherence – repeatedly makes mistakes and shows lack of foresight, what can we expect from social media platforms that are based on freedom and maximum dissemination?”

In today’s world, mass media plays a very important role in the process of constructing social identities. With the globalization of media broadcasting in various languages and the loss of the previous notions of time and place, one can even speak of the globalization of the identity-building process. Media images provide many opportunities for homogenizing social identities. On the other hand, the image portrayed of ethnic groups can have a significant impact on the perspectives of others and the formation of stereotypical perceptions of these groups. One example of ethnic images that have led to incorrect stereotypical perceptions in the distant past is the mockery and jokes about ethnic groups, which often have linguistic and verbal aspects.

Some researchers believe that in the present era, social networks have become very popular, where the level of interaction and two-way communication is very high and in many cases, the consumer becomes the producer. This has added to the appeal of virtual space and especially existing social networks. This level of freedom and two-way communication is considered a blessing for humanity. A blessing that we were deprived of until just a few years ago. But this is not the whole story. These virtual social networks also have their own dangers. Just as in the past, the transmission of messages through telegraph lines was considered a threat and the state police (late 19th century) deemed it to be the cause of increased crime.

Yes! Social networks are not a concept that refers to a new phenomenon. Humans have been participating in various social networks since the formation of small and large social groups. These networks, in any size, act as a social structure and involve individuals in a set of interpersonal communications and interactions. With the development of societies and the expansion of communications in various communities, the structures of these societies and the resulting outcomes have also changed and moved towards complexity.

Social networks, with the expansion of intercultural communications and turning it into a daily routine, can bring different cultures closer and promote positive aspects and create more harmony. On the other hand, they can also highlight differences and even lead to animosity and hatred. Therefore, due to the lack of a cohesive theoretical approach, it seems that in evaluating intercultural communications in interaction with virtual social networks, examining interethnic relations in Iran under the influence of the expansion of social networks should not only be recognized as a research priority, but as individuals, we must roll up our sleeves and take action to preserve ourselves and our identity; an action beyond forcing apologies and creating campaigns and hashtags such as “Me and Persian”.

Mocking others based on unfamiliarity with different cultures happens. While with a comprehensive look at the diversity of different cultures, we realize that existing differences not only do not lead to mockery, but also provide a suitable ground for individuals to benefit from the broader dimensions of the cultural capacities of different nations. Mockery has many dimensions, but one of the most important is related to the cultural aspect. Because in many cases, it can be seen that a person who mocks others has always faced deficiencies in their life and uses the characteristics of other humans to mock them in order to cover up these deficiencies and also to have something to say by being in a group of people. From a cultural perspective, in many cases, the root of mockery can be traced back to the past culture of a society; in such a way that if previous generations have always tried to belittle the outstanding characteristics of other individuals due to their deficiencies, this trait will be passed on to their children and future generations over time.

Albert Rap believes that humor and satire are a form of mental combat and one of the newest forms of verbal combat in the modern world. In his opinion, with the evolution of society, the nature of relationships between individuals and social groups also changes, and in this regard, physical combat has transformed into verbal combat. According to him, humor in today’s world acts like a duel. He calls this duel a duel of mental skills, in which laughter determines the winner and the person being mocked is the loser of this battle.

The truth is that personally, I am unable to determine the winners and losers. Some believe that the Azerbaijani (Turkish) teenager was the winner of this game. Because he was the one who crossed the hundred-year-old barrier in one night and his film was seen! In this market full of satire, sarcasm, and jokes, we are lost and perhaps according to the theories of psychologists, we are only supposed to laugh and not take things seriously, and of course, not take the world seriously. This indifference will definitely not benefit us or Iran. This is not a win-win game, it only has one loser, and that is Iran. Iran, tired of everything. Those who should and could have done something, have either left the world or hidden in a corner. Those who should have made policies and decisions, have so many holes in their management, personal, moral, family, embezzlement, etc. that they really don’t have time for these minor and

Every country strives to have a united, cohesive, integrated, and loyal nation to its national identity. However, the imbalanced growth in economic, social, and political areas, personal biases and actions without following predetermined policies with ethnic groups, lack of implementation or deficiencies in implementing national policies, etc. are among the factors leading to the failure of national policies in Iran.

But as an individual and social responsibility, it is up to each of us to not only increase our knowledge, awareness, and social skills, but also to respect all languages, customs, and cultures of all Iranian ethnic groups in all personal and social matters, and to confront any behavior that goes against the principle of national unity and solidarity.

Footnotes:

1- Rezapour, Parnia, Turkman, Farah, and Rahmani Firouzjah, Ali, A Sociological Study of Jokes Related to Social Groups in Iran (with Emphasis on Telegram Jokes in 2018), Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 27, No. 89, July 2020, pp. 201-232.

2- Sultanpour Eshtebini, Akram, Arabestani, Mehrdad, and Sarukhani, Bagher, “Analysis of Individual-Cultural Identity Elements in the Formation and Sustainability of the Identity of Iranian Azerbaijani Turks,” Journal of Cultural Sociology, Vol. 13, No. 3, 1401, pp. 83-110.

3- Seyyed Amami, Kavous, Perception of Ethnic Groups from their Media Images, Cultural Research Quarterly, Year 1, Issue 4, Winter 1387, pp. 78-119.

4- Tavakolirad, Mehrdad, and Ghaffari, Gholamreza, Black Jokes, Social Interactions, and Their Negative Consequences. Social Studies and Research in Iran, Volume 5, Issue 4 (Serial 20), Winter 1395, pp. 593-615.

5- Zandiye, Zahra, Khaniki, Hadi, and Kia, Ali Asghar, Designing and Evaluating the Model of Various Functions of Virtual Social Networks in Intercultural Communications (Case Study: Students of Tehran Universities), Global Media Journal, Volume 14, Issue 2 (No. 28), 2019, pp. 77-105.

6- Karimi, Khusro, Ebtahi, Mostafa, and Matlabi, Masoud, Management of National Issues in the Islamic Republic of Iran and its Impact on Reducing Ethnic Conflicts and Promoting National Unity, Iranian Sociological Monthly, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Issue 12), February 2021, pp. 2270-2287.