The significant growth of information and communication technology has had extensive effects on the transformation of individual and collective identities. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of virtual social networks on the formation of dual real/virtual identities among secondary school students in the city of Kamyaran. The statistical population of the present study consisted of upper secondary school students in the city of Kamyaran in the academic year 2024–2025, estimated at 348 individuals based on the Cochran formula. The research was descriptive and conducted using a survey method, and a researcher-made questionnaire adapted from the perspectives of researchers such as Chalabi, Gol-Mohammadi, Alaei, and Abolhasani was used to measure identity duality, which was distributed among the respondents after assessing its validity and reliability. The ANCOVA test in SPSS 27 software was used to analyze the data. The results showed that cyberspace, compared with real space, encompasses a large portion of students' activities and lives. Students' virtual identity does not align with their real identity. Students' identity in real space is represented more authentically, distinctly, and clearly than in cyberspace. There is a significant difference between the forms of students' social identity (gender, modern, appearance, romantic) in cyberspace and real space. The findings of the research indicate that students' real and virtual identities do not align, and their identity in real space is more authentic and coherent, while in cyberspace it is relatively more fluid, unstable, and pluralistic.