Study: Indonesian Citizens Surf the Internet More During Fasting, Check Out the Purpose
Illustration. A study shows an increase in consumption of internet-based services during the month of Ramadan 1445 Hijriah. (Photo: iStockphoto/Blue Planet Studio)
-- A study shows an increase in consumption of internet based services during the month of Ramadan 1445 Hijriah. The following is the explanation.
The research was conducted by Populix on 22-25 February 2024. The survey was conducted online on a total of 1,029 respondents, men and women aged 17-55 years in Indonesia.
The study, entitled "Ramadan 2024: Connectivity, Media Consumption, and Delivery Dynamic," revealed that there was an increase in consumption of internet-based services by 40 percent for calls, sending messages, and data usage.
"Through the study we conducted, this month of Ramadan saw a surge in internet data usage for making calls, sending messages and accessing various digital content," said Indah Tanip, Head of Research Populix, in her official statement, Monday (25/3).
To communicate and connect with other people, communication services such as voice calls (53 percent) and video calls (42 percent) are much more popular than Zoom, Google Meet, and so on (5 percent). Especially for voice call services, it is even dominated by Gen Z respondents.
Meanwhile, for media services during Ramadan, social media and the video streaming platform YouTube are much more popular (70 percent) compared to television (49 percent) and video-on-demand services such as Netflix (46 percent).
The social media and video streaming platform YouTube was chosen because of its accessibility and variety of content that is relevant to users.
In particular, the YouTube video streaming service is loved for its clear presentation of information and its effectiveness in simplifying complex topics. And social media is in demand because it offers entertainment that adapts to users' varied interests.
There are four types of content that are most accessed from this media service, namely information related to worship schedules during the fasting month, entertainment content, cooking recipes, and culinary programs for sahur and breaking the fast.
The majority of respondents or 42 percent stated that they more often consume internet services before breaking the fast. This shows that there is a tendency for users to use media to pass the time while waiting for the Maghrib call to prayer.
However, many respondents also complained that there were still problems they often faced regarding internet connectivity during the month of Ramadan, namely poor signal quality and slow internet speed.
Improved delivery service
An increase can also be seen in delivery services, in particular, many users use food and drink delivery services to buy food and drinks, both for sahur and breaking the fast.
Indah also stated that this could be categorized as support for digital technology to make things easier for users during the month of Ramadan.
"Apart from that, digital technology support in terms of delivery of goods has also increased, especially for consumers who are looking for convenience in purchasing sahur menus and breaking the fast," said Indah.
This increase in food and drink deliveries shows consumer preferences for convenience and efficiency when it comes to preparing food during the fasting month.