مریم سبزعلی

This research examines the Iranian digital community's engagement with the Metaverse, analyzing 14,724 tweets (expanding to 48,620 with retweets) from 23,571 unique users. Interest in the Metaverse among Iranians surged in the seven months following Facebook's rebranding but has since waned. A significant link between digital currency discussions and Metaverse topics was observed. Economic activists in the cryptocurrency market, forming the primary content creators, generally portray the Metaverse positively, focusing on earning opportunities. Another active group includes technology enthusiasts who share the latest Metaverse developments. Moreover, some users integrate Iran's socio-political context into their discussions, often contrasting Iran's technological stance with global giants like Facebook and addressing internet censorship. A distinct perspective comes from users wary of potential colonialist uses of technologies like the Metaverse, expressing apprehension about human subjugation. This sentiment forms the basis of most negative views on the Metaverse's development within the Iranian digital sphere.

The emergence of celebrities dates back to the mid-19th century, with some scholars tracing their origins to even earlier periods. However, it was the commercialization of the Internet in the 1990s, and more significantly, the rise of the social media industry in the mid-2010s that gave birth to what is now commonly referred to as the "celebrity industry." This industry has experienced a continuous upward trajectory ever since. While individuals with a discerning outlook may perceive celebrities, especially microcelebrities, as superficial and lacking in merit for societal attention, it is essential to recognize their pivotal role in reshaping global economic dynamics. This paper aims to elucidate the undeniable influence of celebrities, particularly microcelebrities, in stimulating ordinary individuals to allocate their hard-earned resources toward non-essential expenditures. Indeed, as the concept of 'consumption' itself has evolved into a potent driving force, celebrities' impact transcends economic domains, extending into the realms of society, personal life, culture, and even politics. This paper endeavors to elucidate the multifaceted consequences of this phenomenon.

After a brief description of what fake news is and how it has been developed historically, we have claimed that fake news as we know it is generally a social media phenomenon. Despite the fact that Iran is considered a developing country, and not still a developed one, one might think Iran is less likely to fall prey of complicated fake news industry that negatively affect prosperous and affluent countries. But the vice versa is correct. Doing an extensive survey on previous research on fake news in Iran, we have shown how fake news will hinder unprecedented facilities for freedom of expression and even will make people contemplate giving up their freedom of expression in order to avoid or get rid of fake news. A naïve view could see a bright future for unbiased and disinterested news gathering and publishing, but research has shown in a totally unregulated media sphere, it is fake news that is more radially available and more quickly becoming viral.

Since its inception in the late 1960s and especially following its commercialization in the mid-1990s, the Internet has experienced exponential growth. As artificial intelligence (AI) has surpassed previously inconceivable boundaries, it has become evident that AI both poses a threat to aspects of human existence and offers potential avenues for a more human-centric future. This paper contends that a digital existence, by its intrinsic nature, engenders a sense of discontentment. Paradoxically, within this digital realm, remedies emerge that elude offline experiences. While chatbots initially served as sources of amusement, their capacity to provide accessible and dependable counseling services has now become indispensable. Our assertion is that in the years to come, as chatbot technology advances further in sophistication, hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide will gain access to improved lives through the provision of free counseling services. Consequently, therapy will