Studying the Reasons why Iranian Users Use Fake Identities on Instagram

Objective
The widespread expansion of social media has significantly transformed patterns of communication, self-presentation, and identity construction in contemporary societies. Among these platforms, Instagram has emerged as one of the most influential digital spaces for interaction, image-making, and symbolic representation, particularly in contexts where users may experience social, cultural, or political constraints in offline life. In Iran, Instagram has become an especially important arena for personal expression, economic activity, networking, and mediated visibility. At the same time, the platform has also enabled the proliferation of fake identities, anonymous accounts, and strategically constructed personas. Although previous studies have examined online identity, self-presentation, deception, and cyber behavior from different perspectives, there remains limited research that comprehensively explains why Iranian users employ fake identities on Instagram. Most existing studies have focused on isolated dimensions such as psychological insecurity, criminal misuse, or technical fraud, while overlooking the broader interaction between social pressures, economic motivations, legal conditions, political sensitivities, and individual identity struggles. The main objective of this study is therefore to investigate the reasons behind the use of fake identities on Instagram by Iranian users and to provide a multidimensional explanation of this phenomenon. More specifically, the study seeks to identify the major categories of motivations and contextual conditions that encourage, justify, or facilitate the creation and use of fake identities in this digital environment. By doing so, the research attempts to move beyond simplistic interpretations and offer a grounded conceptual framework that reflects the complexity of identity performance in Iranian social media culture.
Research Methodology
This study adopts a qualitative approach and is conducted within the framework of grounded theory in order to generate a context-sensitive and empirically grounded explanation of the phenomenon under investigation. Given the hidden and difficult-to-trace nature of fake identities on Instagram, the study relies on expert interpretations rather than direct observation of anonymous users. The research is applied in purpose and uses field and library methods for data collection. The empirical component is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 14 experts who were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Participants included university faculty members, scholars in communication and media studies, sociologists, economists, social media analysts, and practitioners with relevant professional experience in digital communication and online environments. Sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved, meaning that additional interviews no longer produced substantially new insights or categories. Interviews were designed to begin with broad and accessible questions and gradually move toward more focused and analytical discussions regarding identity practices, motivations for anonymity, platform affordances, and the broader Iranian social context. Each interview lasted approximately 30 to 60 minutes. The collected data were analyzed through the conventional stages of grounded theory coding, including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. During open coding, initial concepts and recurring meanings were extracted from the interview data. These were then grouped and refined through axial coding in order to identify relationships among categories and subcategories. Finally, selective coding was used to integrate the findings into a coherent conceptual model explaining the reasons for fake identity use on Instagram among Iranian users. This analytical process led to the extraction of a large number of primary codes, which were later condensed into a smaller number of concepts and major thematic categories. The use of grounded theory was particularly appropriate because the study did not aim to test a pre-existing hypothesis; rather, it sought to build an explanatory model from the data itself and to understand the phenomenon in relation to the lived realities and interpretive judgments of knowledgeable experts.
Findings
The findings reveal that the use of fake identities on Instagram among Iranian users is a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by a combination of social, psychological, sociological, financial, individual, political, legal, criminal, and contextual factors. Social motivations include the use of fake accounts for networking, hidden communication, personal relationship management, strategic self-presentation, business promotion, and, in some cases, socially destructive or manipulative purposes. These findings suggest that fake identity use cannot always be understood merely as deception, since in some cases it is tied to practical social needs, mediated visibility, or platform-based interaction strategies. Psychological factors include low self-confidence, fragile self-esteem, curiosity, experimentation, escapism, emotional compensation, the need for anonymity, and the search for a safer environment in which individuals can express aspects of themselves that they may be unable or unwilling to reveal openly. Such factors indicate that fake identities can function as mechanisms of protection, exploration, and emotional adjustment in digital spaces. Sociological causes include broader transformations in social relations, the pressures of mediated life, the inability to express one’s real identity in public, the influence of peer cultures, and the normalization of alternative or anonymous self-representation on social platforms. Financial motivations also emerged as an important category. Some users employ fake identities for hidden commercial activity, market competition, customer attraction, financial concealment, market observation, and even fraudulent economic behavior. These findings highlight the increasing entanglement of identity practices with platform economies and informal digital entrepreneurship. Individual factors include feelings of inadequacy, perceived identity deficiency, the desire for attention and approval, internal tensions, and the attraction of experimenting with imagined or idealized identities. In some cases, fake accounts appear to serve as tools for compensating for unmet personal needs or for enacting identities that are inaccessible in ordinary life. Political causes are especially significant in the Iranian context and include fear of surveillance, avoidance of social or political repercussions, participation in ideological struggles, the spread of political messages, resistance to dominance, and attempts to influence public discourse without exposing one’s real identity. Legal factors also play a role, as users may create fake identities to avoid legal accountability, protect themselves from possible consequences, or operate in ambiguous legal environments where online expression is perceived as risky. At the same time, some fake identities are linked to criminal purposes such as identity theft, fraud, privacy violations, intimidation, defamation, and the circulation of unlawful or misleading content. Finally, the study identifies contextual factors such as technological accessibility, low levels of digital literacy, cybersecurity weaknesses, socio-economic pressures, and broader cultural and political conditions that collectively facilitate the emergence and persistence of fake identity practices. Altogether, the findings demonstrate that fake identity use on Instagram is not a single-cause phenomenon; rather, it is produced through the interaction of personal motivations, structural pressures, digital affordances, and contextual constraints.
Discussion & Conclusion
The study concludes that fake identity use on Instagram among Iranian users should be understood as a complex social phenomenon rather than a purely technical, moral, or criminal issue. The creation and maintenance of fake identities are shaped by an interwoven set of motivations and conditions that include self-protection, emotional need, social adaptation, financial strategy, political caution, legal ambiguity, and, in some cases, intentional misconduct. This multidimensional pattern challenges reductionist interpretations that explain fake identities solely in terms of deviance or dishonesty. Instead, the findings suggest that fake identity practices often emerge at the intersection of identity insecurity, structural limitation, digital opportunity, and cultural negotiation. In theoretical terms, the study contributes to the literature by offering a context-specific and integrated explanation of fake identity use in Iran, thereby enriching discussions of online identity, self-presentation, and mediated social behavior. It shows that digital identity in social media environments is not simply a reflection of the offline self, but often a negotiated, strategic, and situational construction shaped by the affordances of the platform and the pressures of the surrounding society. In practical terms, the findings imply that responses to fake identities should not rely exclusively on surveillance, punishment, or technical detection systems. More effective strategies require a broader approach involving media literacy, public education, stronger privacy and security mechanisms, clearer legal frameworks, culturally sensitive policymaking, and greater attention to the social and psychological conditions that drive users toward anonymity or identity falsification. The study also suggests that platform governance can be improved through identity verification for high-risk accounts, enhanced reporting systems, two-factor authentication, and user education regarding suspicious behavior and digital fraud. At the same time, users need better awareness of online safety, trust management, and the risks associated with interacting with unverified profiles. Despite its contributions, the study has certain limitations. Because fake identities are hidden by nature, the research is based primarily on expert perspectives rather than direct access to the users behind such accounts. Moreover, the focus on Instagram means that the findings cannot automatically be generalized to other platforms with different technical structures, audience cultures, or communication logics. Future studies may therefore compare fake identity practices across multiple social media platforms in order to identify similarities and differences in motivations, affordances, and regulatory implications. Overall, the research provides a grounded and comprehensive account of why fake identities are used on Instagram by Iranian users and offers an important foundation for future scholarship, platform management, and policy development in the field of digital communication.