As a direct consequence of the Covd-19 pandemic, many of us were forced to have a virtual New Year’s Eve get-together – and such a case was clearly reflected in the numbers which were showcased by WhatsApp. Indeed Facebook’s chat app proceeded on to set a record as 2020 finally came to a halt, as there were 1.4 billion video and voice calls placed on New Year’s eve 2020 : the most ever in a single day on WhatsApp. It represented a 50% spike over the event from a year earlier, and even surpassed the early days of the pandemic.
Other apps also pushed boundaries. Indeed Facebook’s messenger had its largest ever volume of group video calls in the US – with almost twice as many calls as on an average day. Both Facebook live and Instagram Live also recorded 55 million broadcasts all across the globe.
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Social media giant Facebook claimed that it had to make “unprecedented efficiency improvements” and otherwise bolster its infrastructure so as to handle the load from the various other apps over the course of the pandemic. Teams on the other hand were ready during the New Year’s Eve, too. And so, if your WhatsApp call did indeed go smoothly, now you know why.
This particular record of course is one which Facebook won’t at all mind keeping for a long time coming – ideally of course mass vaccinations mean that in-person new year’s eve celebrations are indeed a reality again. Nonetheless, this all just goes on to show how internet calling has been critical in preserving traditions – especially in these difficult times. But until mass vaccinations take place and with the number of users growing on WhatsApp, one may imagine that such a number might soon be reached once again – if not surpassed.
