There are clear shifts and changing patterns in Internet use depending on the country where Ramzan is widely observed, particularly before sunrise and after dusk.
Ramzan began on April 2 and lasted until May 1, 2022. The dates vary and are dependent on the visibility of the crescent moon. For Muslims, it is a time of reflection, prayer, and daily fasting from sunrise to sunset.
This means that people who fast only eat in the absence of sunlight, that is at night and before sunrise.
How has this behavioural change affected internet usage?
According to Cloudflare Radar data, the internet traffic was impacted in several countries by Ramzan, with a clear increase in traffic before dawn, and there is a larger drop than typical after dusk.
Before sunrise, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Morocco, Libya, and Turkey saw the most spike in internet usage than during the day.
After sunset, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan (in order of impact) showed a more pronounced fall in traffic.
In most countries, there was a definite pattern: Internet traffic was substantially greater than usual between 04:00 am and 04:59am local time (which is usually the time with the least traffic).
Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have experienced the same early morning (or late night) spike. The period before sunrise for the Suhur meal in the United Arab Emirates experienced higher mobile usage than usual (so people were using their mobile devices to access the Internet more than usual at that time).
Only four of the 16 countries with the greatest Ramzan impact saw traffic drop after sunset on May 4: Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia.
During Ramzan, all of these countries saw an increase (or sustained traffic) in daily traffic, but after it finished, they saw a decrease in daily Internet usage (in May).
As humans changed their habits, their internet usage, and internet traffic had a clear impact of the change.
