Read this report on how the pandemic changed the internet

The New York Times has a new report about the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has changed Internet use in the United States. The data provides an interesting insight into how the pandemic and resulting lockdowns across the country have transformed our relationships with technology.

Some facts will not shock you. Video chat services such as Google Duo, Nextdoor and Houseparty have all seen a large increase in traffic since January 21. Likewise, popular remote work apps, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Classroom, have become more popular. (The investigation of their privacy practices has also intensified.) But while you probably suspected these services were doing well, you may not realize how much they exploded until you’ve seen the trendlines for yourself.

“The offices and schools of America have all moved to our basements and living rooms,” the authors write. “Nothing has a greater impact on online activities than this change.”

Other conclusions are more surprising. For example, the writers look at the average daily traffic of Facebook, Netflix and YouTube from January 15 to March 24. (The first death of COVID-19 in the US was on February 29.) While those respective mobile apps have seen (or even decreased) a very small increase in traffic during that time, the corresponding browser equivalents have skyrocketed in recent weeks.

We’ve even changed the way we search for news: traffic to local and national newspapers has increased, but traffic to publications that Times called ‘biased’ (such as Infowars and Breitbart) has not grown that fast and has even declined in some cases.

As a new, isolated reality settles in communities across the country, it can be difficult to know whether the changes we make in our behavior are our own changes or symptoms of a larger shift. Read this article for a broader look at how our internet habits are changing.