In the digital age, the concept of "leisure" among Iranian adolescent girls has undergone a fundamental redefinition. While in Islamic tradition and Iranian culture leisure was recognized as a time for self-development, reflection, and the strengthening of family relationships, the expansion of digital technologies, gender-based restrictions, and cultural changes have shaped a new meaning of leisure. The aim of this study is to qualitatively investigate how leisure is experienced and redefined among urban adolescent girls.
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 17 girls aged 13 to 18 years in Tehran and were analyzed using thematic analysis (open, axial, and selective coding). The findings revealed three main patterns of leisure experience: 1) unhealthy individualism, in which virtual space serves as a refuge for escaping family and social pressures; 2) proportionate collectivity, which includes activities such as listening to music, reading novels, and spiritual exchange in virtual space with limited but meaningful relationships; and 3) adaptive sociality, in which girls, by utilizing limited cultural spaces, transform leisure into an arena for strengthening identity and social belonging. The results indicated that virtual space, at semi-collective and collective levels, can provide a platform for the formation of "digital modesty" (ḥayā) and the reproduction of moral values. Ultimately, the research concludes that the main issue is not the nature of technology itself, but rather the lack of safe and meaningful leisure spaces for adolescent girls. By integrating the approaches of social sociology, Islamic feminism, and the ethics of technology, this study offers a new framework for understanding leisure as a moral and creative process.