Porn viewership spikes in DC amid partial government shutdown
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — Curious as to how furloughed workers have been fulfilling their time since December? Simple: by watching porn.
According to data gathered by the analytics team at PornHub -- the internet's largest pornography site, online traffic from the DC-Metro area domains increased 6.32 percent overall the week of Jan. 7-11, as compared to the pre-shutdown averages.
"Pornhub's statisticians noted not only an increase in visits to the site, but also a distinct shift in the hours during which people are watching porn," stated Pornhub in an article on their website. "When compared to traffic levels prior to the shut-down, weekday visits across the United States were up 5.94 percent."
Pornhub's peak traffic period across the United States is typically between the hours of 10 p.m. to midnight. After the shutdown began back in December, late night traffic increased above average, while early morning traffic on the website between the hours of 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. had the smallest change.
In the District, the results with the traffic after midnight were up nearly 12 percent and early morning traffic down from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Female viewership in the District increased by 12.3 percent above average.
Average visit time during the week increased by 33 seconds (from 10 minutes, 37 seconds), indicating that some people have a bit more 'time' on their hands. Visits from women also saw an increase, as traffic was up by 4.2 percent (deeming to be above average).
In addition, viewership was up nationally, as well, due to other furloughed workers across the United States.
Pre-shutdown data was gathered from the weeks of Dec. 3-7 and Dec. 10-14 -- making note that the holiday traffic on the website would not affect the results of the study.
