Measuring Internet Knowledge and its Effects on the Youth Usage of E-Commerce in Tehran

This paper will examine the causal relationship between internet knowledge of the youth in Tehran and their tendency to use it for e-commerce of Bongah (B 2 C) purposes. The problematic of the research rests on revealing the socio-economic status of the youth that affects their tendencies towards actually using their knowledge of internet to apply to e-commerce activities. The paper uses digital gap theory which is a variant of knowledge gap theory to address this problem and find possible solutions. I have then operationalized this theory into measurement tools by identifying main variables and using them to build a questionnaire that is attached to the paper. I used the questionnaire among 150 samples in Tehran to collect my date. Some of the findings indicate there is a causal relationship between educational level of the respondents, their socio-economic status and their tendency to use e-commerce facilities. Also, there is a digital gap among the youth in Tehran and this is causing them have differential knowledge and this in turn is causing them to use e-commerce facilities offered by shoppers in a differential manner. The findings also indicate that there is lack of trust among the youth directed at internet-based shopping facilities causing them not to get involved in e-commerce.