Doha: A majority of people in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region become more active on social media sites during Ramadan, a recent study reveals.
According to a study conducted by The Online Project (TOP) on social networking sites in nine Mena countries, including Qatar, Facebook activity jumps upto 30 percent during the fasting month.
The report titled ‘Social Media In Ramadan- exploring Arab user habits on Facebook and Twiiter’ found peak hours among Facebook users in Qatar to be interestingly those after Iftaar from 7pm to 8pm while, in contrast, a majority was found to be more active between 2pm and 3pm on regular days. On Twitter, user activity jumped between 5pm and 6pm in the fasting month.
Data related to Facebook and Twitter usage was retrieved by analyzing a period of three weeks before, during and after Ramadan in 2012 in countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, KSA and the UAE.
Facebook activity was calculated on the number of likes, comments, shares that regional brands received divided by the average number of fans these brands had during that time interval. Twitter engagement was calculated by the number of mentions, retweets regional brands had received. The study found that brands benefit from this increase in activity during Ramadan, especially during peak hours, if the content is entertaining or valuable.
The Peninsula
