With the emergence of Generation Z as digital natives, cyberspace has shifted for them from being merely a communication tool to becoming the primary arena for living and identity formation. The present study aims to anatomize the motivational hierarchy of Iranian adolescents (aged 15–18) in their engagement with the platform ecosystem and social networks, drawing on the “Uses and Gratifications Theory.” This research was conducted nationwide using documentary and survey methods, and its data were extracted from and analyzed on the basis of a sample of 1,756 adolescents across the country.



Data analysis indicates an alarming motivational inversion: contrary to prevailing assumptions about the agency and active engagement of the new generation, their dominant behavioral pattern is characterized by “digital wandering,” “lurking,” and passive consumption. In this generation’s motivational pyramid, the components of “digital leisure,” “consumption of entertainment products,” and “escape from reality” occupy the top position (with a high inclination of 62.9%). By contrast, development-oriented, scientific, entrepreneurial, and civic-participation motives remain confined to the lowest level of the pyramid (its base), reflecting the phenomena of “depoliticization” and the atomization of this generation.



Moreover, image-based platforms (such as Instagram, with 71% penetration) exert the greatest influence, and resistance to domestic platforms largely stems from poor feature quality and privacy concerns. For Iranian adolescents, cyberspace possesses a “patchwork” identity and functions as a “psychological dwelling”—a means of resilience in the face of structural anxieties, physical constraints, and an identity crisis.