Socio-Cultural Strategy

Socio-Cultural Strategy

From Leisure to Individuality: A Qualitative Study of the Impact of Leisure Spending Styles on the Mental Health and Social Relationships of Adolescent Girls

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
maryam solgi 1
Samantha sadat Sadidpour 2
1 Department of Philosophy and Islamic Wisdom, Faculty of Theology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding author).
2 PhD in Sociology, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/scs.2026.544009.1735
Abstract
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.
Keywords
Euphrates times
teenage girls
individualism
collectivism
semi-collective population
Subjects
##Acquisti, A., Brandimarte, L., & Loewenstein, G. (2015). Privacy and human behavior in the age of information. Science, 347(6221), 509-514##
##Agyare, P. (2025). Gendered Digital Harms and Youth Ideological Trajectories: Socioconomic Challenges of Digital Platforms. SocioEconomic Challenges, 9(3), 77-96##
##Ali, S., Pasha, S. A., & Youseef, E. (2025). Exploring internet use and parental mediation in Pakistan. SN Social Sciences, 5(1), 6##
##Amanollahi, Z., Kakavandi Chaghasfid, M., Hosseini, F.Z. (2025). Study of the style of family communication patterns and the way adolescents identify in the family, Journal of Social Issues of Iran, 16(1), 117-134. (in persion)##
##Ammar, A., et al. (2020). COVID-19 home confinement and its impact on physical activity and sedentary behavior. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health##
##Ashouri M, Yazdanipour MasMoumeh (2018). Investigating the effect of group play therapy education with a cognitive behavioral approach on the social skills of students with mental retardation. Journal of Rehabilitation. 19 (3): 262-275 (in persion)##
##Attarzadeh, M. (2022). Cyberspace disruption in the process of Iranian family identity formation. Studies in Jurisprudence and Media Law, (Spring and Summer 1401), 7-49. (in persion)##
##Barat Dastjerdi, N. (2014). An Investigation of the role of Cyber Networks in Cultural Identity of Students at the University of Isfahan. Journal of Applied Sociology, 25(2), 159-170.##
##Batani Nooshabadi, R.; Zarean, M., Mohseni, M. (2025). Phenomenology of adolescent girls' identification in relation to their presence in cyberspace, Journal of Social and Psychological Studies of Women, 23(1), 165-133. (in persion)##
##Berger, K. (2019). Developmental Psychology of Children and Adolescents. Translator: Esmaeil Saadipour. Tehran: Doran Publishing. (in persion)##
##Bohnert, A., Fredricks, J., & Randall, E. (2010). Capturing unique dimensions of youth organized activity involvement: Theoretical and methodological considerations. Review of Educational Research, 80(4), 576-610##
##Bohnert, A., Fredricks, J., & Randall, E. (2020). Capturing unique dimensions of youth organized activity involvement: Theoretical and methodological considerations. Review of Educational Research, 90(5), 756–794##
##Cao, S., Zhang, J., Dong, C., & Li, H. (2025). Digital resources and parental mediation parallelly mediate the impact of SES on early digital literacy among Chinese preschoolers. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 33(1), 110-124##
##Chin, J., et al. (2023). Resilience in adolescence during the COVID 19 crisis in Canada. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15813-6##
##Colnago, J., Cranor, L. F., & Acquisti, A. (2023, July). Is there a reverse privacy paradox? an exploratory analysis of gaps between privacy perspectives and privacy-seeking behaviors. In Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium (pp. 455-476)##
##Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268##
##Eime, R. M., Young, J. A., Harvey, J. T., Charity, M. J., & Payne, W. R. (2022). A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for adults: Informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 19(1), 34##
##El Mzadi, A., et al. (2022). Mental health profiles in a sample of Moroccan high school students: Comparison before and during the COVID 19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.752539##
##Engeln, R., Loach, R., Imundo, M. N., & Zola, A. (2020). Compared to Facebook, Instagram use causes more appearance comparison and lower body satisfaction in college women. Body image, 34, 38-45.
##Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. Norton & Company.##
##Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood. Body image, 13, 38-45##
##Firth, J., et al. (2024). From "online brains" to "online lives": understanding the individualized impacts of Internet use across psychological, cognitive and social dimensions. World Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21188##
##George, M. J., Russell, M. A., Piontak, J. R., & Odgers, C. L. (2021). Concurrent and subsequent associations between daily digital technology use and psychological symptoms in adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 57(2), 219-232##
##Gkintoni, E., et al. (2024). Promoting physical and mental health among children and adolescents via gamification-A conceptual systematic review. Behavioral Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14020102##
##Golabi, F. (2013). Types of leisure and its impact on the social health of youth. Economic Sociology and Development, 2(2), 121-169. (in persion)##
##Hamzeh Lo, Z., Nasirian Azar Bonab, S., Gholipour, M. (2015). Understanding Mahdism in the Digital Generation by Analyzing Attitudes: A Case Study of Factors Affecting Adolescents' Mahdist Beliefs, Entezar Mau'ud Quarterly, 25(89), 139-172.##
##Holmes, R., & Ballin, B. (2025). Imagining Beyond the Barbarism. In British Theatre and Young People (pp. 171-187). Routledge.##
##Hosseini Zare Seyedeh Mahboobeh, Tajour Maryam, Abdi Kianoush, Esfahani Parvaneh, Garavand B., Pourreza A. (2019). Spending leisure time and its relationship with the mental health of the elderly in Tehran in 2018. Salamand: Iranian Journal of Aging. 15 (3):366-379 (in persion)##
##Jahanshahi, M, Ahmadi, KH. (2018). Studying the effectiveness of modesty education on reducing internet addiction and risky behaviors in adolescent girls, Journal of Cultural Psychology, 2(1), 1-14. (in persion)##
##Kafashi, M., Pir Jalili, Z. (2017). Spending women's leisure time in cyberspace (Tehran, 2015), Women and Society Journal, 7(4), 124-105. (in persion)##
##Kerekes, N., et al. (2021). Changes in adolescents' psychosocial functioning and well being as a consequence of long term COVID 19 restrictions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168755##
##Kleiber, D. A., & Walker, G. J. (2020). Leisure and human development: An existential perspective. Routledge.##
##Macur, M., & Pontes, H.M. (2021). Internet gaming disorder in adolescence: investigating profiles and associated risk factors. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11394-4##
##Marino, C., Gini, G., Vieno, A., & Spada, M. M. (2020). The associations between problematic Facebook use, psychological distress and well-being among adolescents and young adults: A systematic review. Addictive Behaviors, 101, 106-124##
##Marino, C., Gini, G., Vieno, A., & Spada, M. M. (2020). The associations between problematic Facebook use, psychological distress and well-being among adolescents and young adults: A systematic review. Addictive Behaviors, 101, 106-124##
##Naseri, S, Toosi, D., Zahed B., Adel and Akbari, T. (2023). Investigating the structural relationships of mental health based on addiction to social networks with the mediation of parental supervisory styles in high school students. Quarterly Journal of Applied Psychological Research, 13(2), 365-380. doi: 10.22059/japr.2022.323581.643838 (in persion)##
##Niino, K., Patapoff, M. A., Mausbach, B. T., Liu, H., Moore, A. A., Han, B. H., ... & Jester, D. J. (2025). Development of loneliness and social isolation after spousal loss: A systematic review of longitudinal studies on widowhood. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 73(1), 253-265.##
##Pearce, E., et al. (2021). Loneliness as an active ingredient in preventing or alleviating youth anxiety and depression: A critical interpretative synthesis incorporating principles from rapid realist reviews. Translational Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01740-w##
##Pedrini, L., et al. (2022). Adolescents' mental health and maladaptive behaviors before the Covid 19 pandemic and 1 year after: analysis of trajectories over time and associated factors. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-022-00474-x##
##Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65-78##
##Raisch, S., & Krakowski, S. (2021). Artificial intelligence and management: The automation–augmentation paradox. Academy of management review, 46(1), 192-210##
##Sami, E., Asadi, A. and Ghahremani, F. (2015). An Analysis of How Teenagers and Young People Spend Their Free Time and Factors Affecting It in Urban Contexts of Ardabil. Urban Space and Social Life, 4(12), 61-76. doi: 10.22034/jprd.2024.62895.1114 (in persion)##
##Schwarzer, R. (2014). Self-efficacy: Thought control of action. Taylor & Francis.##
##Seo, W., Yang, C., & Kim, Y. H. (2024, May). Chacha: leveraging large language models to prompt children to share their emotions about personal events. In Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-20).##
##Shafiee, S., Romeshkanian, A., (2019). Investigating students' communication skills, Journal of Contemporary Research in Sciences and Research, 14(2) 52-45. (in persion)##
##Soroush, M., Iman, MT. Taghi, Rastegar, Y. and Foroudestan, M. (2017). Comparing individual, family and friendship leisure patterns of adolescents and middle-aged people in Isfahan and examining the role of gender identity, religiosity and its components in these patterns, Quarterly Journal of Culture and Communication Studies, 37(18), 100-67 (in persion)##
##Taqdisi M.H. Nouri Sistani M., Mirqati Khoei E., Hosseini F., Asgharnejad Farid., A.A. (2011). Studying the effect of peer group approach on adolescent girls' awareness and performance regarding mental health. Toloebehdasht. 10 (3 and 3-4): 92-105 (in persion)##
##Tateno, M., et al. (2022). Current status and future perspectives of clinical practice for gaming disorder among adolescents in Japan: A preliminary survey in Sapporo. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports. https://doi.org/10.1002/pcn5.4##
##Todeh Ranjbar, H., Araghi, F. (2018). Studying the harm of new media and social networks on the mental health of youth, Journal of Islamic Humanities Studies, 4(16), 35-28. (in persion)##
##Tracy, S. J. (2020). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. Wiley-Blackwell.##
##Tülüba, T., Karaköse, T., & Papadakis, S. (2023). A holistic investigation of the relationship between digital addiction and academic achievement among students. European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe13100143##
##Twenge, J. M. (2023). Generations: The real differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silentsand what they mean for America’s future. Atria Books.##
##Twenge, J. M. (2023). iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood. Atria Books.##
##Uhls, Y. T., Ellison, N. B., & Subrahmanyam, K. (2022). Benefits and costs of social media in adolescence. Pediatrics, 150(S3), e2022059070J.##
##Wasserman, D., et al. (2023). Improving mental health through fostering healthy lifestyles in young people: one of the targets in the WPA Action Plan 2023 2026. World Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21146##
##Werling, A.?M., et al. (2021). Media use before, during and after COVID 19 lockdown according to parents in a clinically referred sample in child and adolescent psychiatry: Results of an online survey in Switzerland. Comprehensive Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152260##
##Xiao, Y., Keyes, K. M., & Mann, J. J. (2025). Addictive Screen Use and Youth Mental Health—Reply. JAMA, 334(19), 1771-1771.##
##You, Y., et al. (2021). A bird's eye view of exercise intervention in treating depression among teenagers in the last 20?years: A bibliometric study and visualization analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.661108##
##Zare, F., Karami, M. T. (2015). The Lived Experience of Girls in the Eighties from Being on Virtual Social Networks, Journal of New Media Studies, 11(41) 40-1. (in persion)##

  • Receive Date 29 August 2025
  • Revise Date 17 May 2026
  • Accept Date 25 May 2026