The tragic massacre that took place in Israel on 7th October 2023 has caused ripples around the world. As the nature and the true horrors of the attack unfolded over the days subsequent to 7th October, a noticeable increase has been detected in consumption behavior, specifically related to news and social media usage.
Social Media Usage
The first interesting pattern that has been detected is a spike in social media usage. The average daily minutes per home on almost all social channels grew slightly on October 7th itself, and then leapt further on October 8th, once news of the extent of the terrorist attack had spread.
Looking specifically at the Telegram app, usage increased significantly, rising 36% in the week immediately after.
Average minutes on Facebook jumped from 90.3 on October 6th, to 145.9 on October 8th, a 62% increase. Users spent an average of 73.6 minutes on Instagram on October 6th, which became 120.4 on October 8th, a 64% increase. A similar pattern emerged on TikTok, and while October 6th had kept users glued to their feed for 108.3 minutes, on October 8th the data showed that number at 164.8, almost an hour longer.
In fact, the only social media platform which did not see a jump in usage was LinkedIn, as work was probably far from everyone’s minds.
Streaming Behaviors
It’s important to be able to analyze not only the type of activity that users are engaged with, such as streaming – but also on which apps users are watching their content. In the days following 7/10, there has been a sharp increase in streaming across all platforms. Markedly, Partner TV saw an average of 285.9 minutes of user streaming in the week preceding 7/10, but in the week following 7/10 this leapt to 512.8, a 79.3% increase.
Similar patterns could be seen across other streaming platforms, including Cellcom, and YES, which saw a peak of 913 minutes of usage on October 11th, a high for the month.
Browsing the Web to Find the Latest News
In particular, Israeli users have been turning to the news to stay apprised of the evolving situation across the country.
As you can see, Israeli news website N12, attracted users that stayed for an average of 11.4 minutes per day in the week leading up to the 7/10 massacre. However, on the day of the attack, this rose from 10.8 to 31.7, a jump of 194%. In the week following, this trend continued to be seen in the numbers, and on average homes spent 38.3 minutes on N12, an increase of 236% overall week on week.
Aside from work conferencing, which has remained generally the same pre and post the Hamas terror attack, all web application usage has seen a spike since 7/10.
- Social media usage on average has leapt from 206 minutes per household per day to 297 minutes in the same timeframe.
Home streaming has jumped from 348 to 422 minutes per day per home
Gamers are playing their favorite games for 147 minutes per day on average, up from 131 before the attack.
One thing is clear. Subscribers are leaning on their internet connections, specifically for news and social media now more than ever.
Looking for Application-aware Answers About User Behavior
What do your home internet users do in times of crisis? This is a question any CSP should want to answer, so they can support subscribers with the right intervention and support at the right time, and ensure that home users have what they need exactly when they need it.
The data shows that since the horrors of 7/10, home web users have increased the way they use the internet substantially, specifically with news and social media. This includes social media usage to keep up with their networks and with informal news, direct news websites to follow the headlines, or even streaming and gaming for some much-needed escapism, or to keep children occupied while staying safe at home.
Interested in getting these numbers for your own subscriber-base? Let’s schedule a time to talk.
