COVID-19 boosts use of internet, video calls in Germany: Destatis

Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-11 19:33:59|Editor: huaxia

BERLIN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Sixty-eight percent of around 67 million internet users in Germany aged 10 years and over made phone calls or video calls via internet platforms such as Skype, Zoom, Facetime, WhatsApp or Viber, in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Tuesday.

Compared to the first quarter last year, the share increased by 9 percentage points. "The strong increase could be a first indication of the effects of the social distancing orders at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic," Destatis noted.

Among the private online activities, the share of Germans reading online news and newspaper also went up from 72 percent in Q1 of the previous year to 77 percent in Q1 this year. Communication by emails remained popular in Germany in the first quarter of the year, with a share of around 90 percent, according to Destatis. Meanwhile, 73 percent of internet users in Germany made purchases online. Enditem

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