Internet users peruse food websites during Ramadan

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Internet usage was up 10 percent during Ramadan compared to other months of the year as food sites have recorded large hits.

Internet use in Turkey was up 10 percent during the month of Ramadan compared to other periods of the year, according to TTNET General Manager Tahsin Yılmaz. This also represents an increase from the 7 percent spike registered during Ramadan in 2011.

“During Ramadan, users change their Internet habits. Before Ramadan users are usually interested in social media and gaming sites. During Ramadan, however, there were a record number of hits for food recipe websites,” said Yılmaz.

In fact, there was a 50 percent increase in the number of hits on websites with the key word “food,” and a 141 percent spike for websites with the word “recipe,” Yılmaz said.

Peak hours

While prior to Ramadan most Internet users surfed the web between 2 and 4 p.m. and 9 and 11 p.m., there was an 11 percent increase in the number of weekend Internet users during Ramadan, again up from 8.7 percent during Ramadan last year.

There was also a 10 percent increase in online video use and a 15 percent rise in instant messaging, Yılmaz said.

This is not to say, however, that there was little interest in social media. During the month of Ramadan, Facebook hits also increased 15.5 percent, up from 10.3 percent a year earlier, and online gaming sites recorded a 21.5 percent increase, Yılmaz said.