Author

• Hamid Abdollahyan

University of Tehran

Abstract

Using the experiences of users gained through engagement in the virtual realityenvironment and making a special reference to the Iranian social standards, this articleoffers an explorative-empirical perspective in order to conceptualize the internetpathological behaviors. The objective of this conceptualization is to propose anall-encompassing definition for social and internet pathological behaviors. The articlethen goes on to identify and categorize new and presently unidentified types of sociallypathological behaviors in accordance with the experienced and unexperienced andconceptual connections to the Internet sites. The article will also critically review thetraditional modes of analyzing pathological behaviors. This review aims at presenting anempirical-theoretical study of identity changes of the young generation in Iran as adependent variable, which is depended upon the frequencies of referring to the virtualworld. This will result in formulating a reasonable theoretical frame thea can be used tostudy the all-encompassing internet pathological behaviors. The benefit of thislogico-empirical attempt is to clarify the ambiguities which contribute to reification andfabrication attempt is to clarify the often used by power institutions. This clarification isdone by means of providing empirical instances that show social change, new identityformations and their

Keywords

• empirical indenxes should not be mistaken with socially pathologicalbehaviors. In the end
• the elements that need to be addressed in providing a newtypology of internet pathological behavior will be discussed. Key Words: Virtual state
• reifications
• fabrication
• typology
• modern pathology
• political rationality
• Identity changes
• generation differences