Technology is shaping the way Muslims spend Ramadan. Islam requires followers to go without food, water and other liquids between sunrise and sunset during the Muslim holy month. This religious custom, known as fasting, is meant to bring people closer to God. Now during Ramadan, more and more Muslims are spending time on social media, computers and other electronic devices. People in the Middle East spend close to 58 million more hours on Facebook during the month. They also watch more YouTube videos now than at any other time of the year. This makes Ramadan an important time of the year for advertisers. Ramez Shehadi is Facebook’s managing director for the Mideast and North Africa. “Consumption and time spent on our platforms does indeed increase,” he said of Ramadan. In general, Muslims stay up a lot more at night during Ramadan and have more free time.
