One of the most common activities of the youth of Tehran is cruising around the city. A lot of young people spend their evening by driving aimlessly around the city searching for possibilities to socialise or a good spot to hangout. Because the traffic in Tehran is dense until late, it often happens that there is interaction between cars driving slowly side by side.
Driving around is metaphorical for the life of young Iranians. As their possibilities to express themselves and fulfil their dreams is limited, they are often aimless in what they want to achieve or what they are going to do. Many of them want to leave the country in search for more freedom or better jobs. The young generation is sometimes called: “without aim or ties”. As the traditional values slowly lose their weight and the new western values are hard to reach for most of them. Many are without work or in jobs which aren´t paid well. Depression and other mental diseases are a widespread problem. There is always a fear of impending war and paranoia of getting caught for doing something forbidden by the state. Many young Iranians live with their parents until they marry, so driving around is a way to flee the gaze of their family and the Police.
