Statistics released by Google showed Singaporeans spending 2 million hours in 2018 watching Chinese New Year content on YouTube. This was gathered after the company tracked Chinese New Year-related searches on Google and YouTube from Dec 18, 2017 to Jan 29, 2018.
For Singaporeans, watching videos was a favored social activity spent with family and friends. Prior to the end of 2018, 51% of SG citizens watched astrology-related content. It seems, Singaporeans want to know what the future is in store for them.
Last year, Singaporeans spent watching videos about beauty tutorials like nail and hair care on YouTube the week before CNY.
Apart from videos, Singaporeans also used search engines to shop for new clothes, with a 45% increase in the number of searches for e-commerce clothing brands in the week leading up to CNY.
“House visits make a huge part of the New Year festivities, and Singaporeans want to look their best,” Google said.
Another major category Singaporeans searched for before CNY was supermarket discounts. Searches for this topic doubled last year compared to 2017; another 30%-increase was registered in searches for recipes and cooking tricks.
Singaporeans, the internet, and social media
Based on the 2018 Global Digital Report, Singaporeans spend at least 2 hours and 6 minutes every day on social media platforms. Of these, over 75% use Facebook, 4% use Instagram and Twitter, and approximately 1% of the population use Tumblr.
Singapore has one of the highest Smartphone penetration rates in the world, and among other mobile devices such as tablets and wearable devices, over 90% of the population use them to access social media platforms.