Iran is struggling to find its footing when it comes to offering social freedoms to its young population. The country's President Masoud Pezeshkian recently appointed a Gen Z adviser, Amirreza Ahmadi, who claimed he was determined to listen to the youth of Iran, but his efforts were met with criticism from users who felt his profile was fake and that he had no established connection with youth groups or students demanding change.
The appointment appears to be part of an effort by Pezeshkian's administration to connect with younger generations, who have been driving political change across Asia and globally. However, the Iranian establishment has struggled to make this work, partly due to indifference from many young Iranians and partly because hardline factions within the establishment are resistant to appeasing the youth.
Sanam Vakil, director of Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Programme, says that the Iranian state is struggling to speak the language of a generation that grew up online and outside its ideological frame. She notes that the outreach efforts feel transactional rather than transformative and are ultimately aimed at staving off unrest and protests.
The dynamic between different factions within the establishment is creating an apparent contradiction over issues like social freedoms. On one hand, hardline factions have mobilized to reintroduce as many restrictions as possible, while on the other hand, some officials in more moderate or pragmatic camps are advocating for dialling down some controls.
For instance, former President Hassan Rouhani has criticized hardline lawmakers and politicians for advancing legislation opposed by an overwhelming majority of Iranians. However, he also highlighted his own government's struggles to connect with young people, including women who ride motorcycles without licenses due to the state's refusal to issue them a license.
Another example is the government's stance on social media restrictions, which are blamed for Israel for its continued imposition on tough internet controls. However, experts say that this is a case of the Iranian establishment trying to deflect criticism from its own inability to offer young people substantial freedoms.
Writer and associate professor at New York University, Azadeh Moaveni notes that pragmatists within the state are offering frustration rather than meaningful change, which is why no faction enjoys broad support from the younger generation. She also notes that the dynamic of loosening and tightening social freedoms by the state to manage society is no longer working, partly due to changes taking place in society and multiple ongoing crises reshaping daily life.
Overall, Iran's struggle to offer social freedoms to its young population highlights a deep-seated imbalance between different factions within the establishment. While some officials are trying to appease the youth, others are resistant to change, leading to an apparent contradiction over issues like social freedoms that threatens the country's ability to adapt and evolve in the modern world.
The appointment appears to be part of an effort by Pezeshkian's administration to connect with younger generations, who have been driving political change across Asia and globally. However, the Iranian establishment has struggled to make this work, partly due to indifference from many young Iranians and partly because hardline factions within the establishment are resistant to appeasing the youth.
Sanam Vakil, director of Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Programme, says that the Iranian state is struggling to speak the language of a generation that grew up online and outside its ideological frame. She notes that the outreach efforts feel transactional rather than transformative and are ultimately aimed at staving off unrest and protests.
The dynamic between different factions within the establishment is creating an apparent contradiction over issues like social freedoms. On one hand, hardline factions have mobilized to reintroduce as many restrictions as possible, while on the other hand, some officials in more moderate or pragmatic camps are advocating for dialling down some controls.
For instance, former President Hassan Rouhani has criticized hardline lawmakers and politicians for advancing legislation opposed by an overwhelming majority of Iranians. However, he also highlighted his own government's struggles to connect with young people, including women who ride motorcycles without licenses due to the state's refusal to issue them a license.
Another example is the government's stance on social media restrictions, which are blamed for Israel for its continued imposition on tough internet controls. However, experts say that this is a case of the Iranian establishment trying to deflect criticism from its own inability to offer young people substantial freedoms.
Writer and associate professor at New York University, Azadeh Moaveni notes that pragmatists within the state are offering frustration rather than meaningful change, which is why no faction enjoys broad support from the younger generation. She also notes that the dynamic of loosening and tightening social freedoms by the state to manage society is no longer working, partly due to changes taking place in society and multiple ongoing crises reshaping daily life.
Overall, Iran's struggle to offer social freedoms to its young population highlights a deep-seated imbalance between different factions within the establishment. While some officials are trying to appease the youth, others are resistant to change, leading to an apparent contradiction over issues like social freedoms that threatens the country's ability to adapt and evolve in the modern world.
The thing is, they're trying super hard to connect with the young crowd, but it's all feeling kinda forced, you know? 
Like, Amirreza Ahmadi's profile was called out as fake and nobody really knows him outside of politics... it just doesn't add up. 
And yeah, Sanam Vakil makes some good points about the Iranian state struggling to speak the language of this new generation that grew up online, not stuck in their old ways. 
It's like, they're trying to be all modern and cool, but it's just not translating. 
. It's like they think we're just mindless drones who won't speak up unless they give us a sweet new social media profile 
. Newsflash: it takes more than that to win us over! 
. It's like, what's the point if they're not listening to the real voices of change 
? The young folks in Iran are all about freedom and stuff online, but the establishment is still all like 'nope, we got this' 
... meanwhile, experts say it's just a case of 'let's deflect our own mistakes' 
, pezeshkian thinks he can just appoint some young adviser and suddenly all the youth will be on board, but it's not that easy 
. these young folks have been online since they were kids, they know how to navigate social media, they're not gonna fall for some fake profile or a bunch of empty promises 
. and meanwhile, hardline factions are just trying to keep things tight-fisted 
, but the youth aren't buying it.
.
. azadeh moaveni is right, pragmatists within the state are offering frustration rather than meaningful change, that's why no faction really enjoys broad support from the younger generation 
! It's like, the old guard is trying to hold on tight while the youth are all about that progress life 
. But for real tho, it's a major issue when you got factions within the establishment going at each other over social freedoms 
. Can't they just chill and figure out how to connect with the younger crowd? 
. I mean, who hasn't seen a young person go viral on TikTok or something and suddenly become an influencer? 
The Iranian youth are low-key killing the game online 
! But in all seriousness, it's time for Iran to step up their social freedoms game if they wanna stay relevant 
.
So Iran's got a Gen Z adviser 
. I mean, you can't just create a persona online and expect people to trust it, right? 
trying to connect with young Iranians who are all about online activism and social media 
.
. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 70% of Iranians aged 18-29 say they are more likely to trust news from international sources than local ones 
. That's a major issue for the government trying to spin their narrative.
It's like 80% of the population is using social media, but the government is still trying to control it 
. I checked out some data from Chatham House and it says that pragmatists within the state are offering frustration rather than meaningful change 
.
60% of Iranians aged 18-24 believe that social media has had a mostly positive impact on society 
. However, 70% say they are more likely to trust news from international sources than local ones 
.
. Do they offer more freedoms and risk destabilization? Or do they maintain control and lose support from the youth? 
. I think they need to just listen to what young people are saying online and offline, you know? Get a real Gen Z adviser who actually knows what's going on 
. Like, who needs real change when you can just tweet some generic stuff and call it a day? 
.
. The hardliners are pushing for the old way, while the pragmatists are trying to be more chill 
. But honestly, it feels like they're just playing a game of whack-a-mole - one faction tightens controls, another faction loosens them up, and everyone's just stuck in this cycle 
.
It feels like they're just too scared of change, even though they should be leading by example 
. Anyway, I guess only time will tell if Iran can figure out how to connect with its young population and actually make some meaningful changes 
It's like they're trying to appease everyone but actually don't care what the youth want. Amirreza Ahmadi seems like a nice guy and all, but if his profile was fake... that's just not cool 
. The fact that they're trying to appoint a Gen Z adviser, but it's met with skepticism, just shows us that we can't just buy our way into being relevant 
? The Iranian establishment is deflecting criticism from their own inability to offer young people freedoms by pointing fingers at others... or in this case, blaming Israel for the internet controls 
... they're not just gonna take anything from their government and just roll over 
. The Iranian state needs to listen up and adapt if it wants to stay relevant 
Is he gonna make a real difference or just be another face in the crowd? We'll see