Ramadan in Mideast is for fasting and Facebook, data shows

For Facebook, which also owns Instagram, and

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Google, which owns YouTube, Ramadan brings a welcome boost of business in the region.

"Consumption and time spent on our platforms does indeed increase," said Ramez Shehadi, Facebook's managing director for Mideast and North Africa.

People stay up a lot more at night during Ramadan and have more downtime—especially before iftar, the evening meal that breaks the daylong fast, and the "suhoor," when people gather to eat before another day of fasting. Many also work shorter hours during the day.

All that translates to 5% more time spent on Facebook's platforms, or what is nearly 58 million more hours, Shehadi said. Put another way, there are almost 2 million hours of additional time spent daily on Facebook in the Mideast during Ramadan.

Ramadan is also the peak season for advertising in the region, as TV dramas and soap operas get a 151% increase in viewership on YouTube during the holy month, according to Google.

https://phys.org/news/2019-05-ramadan-mideast-fasting-facebook.html