Time spent on leading online platforms in Italy 2021

In March 2021, each Italian online user spent on average 773 minutes on platforms hosted by Google, which was dwarfed by Facebook at over 25 hours. The monthly average time spent on the marketplace Amazon amounted to 139 minutes. In 2020, the considerable amount of time spent on Facebook by users in the country might have been among the reasons why the social network was considered responsible for spreading fake news about the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Italy.

Facebook role in fake news spreading

That Facebook is responsible for spreading fake news was a widely shared opinion among Italians. More specifically, 84 percent of 18 and 34-year olds, and 77 percent of people aged over 55 years thought that Facebook was responsible for spreading false or inaccurate information regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact.

Facebook platform

Apart from being a social network, the platform of Facebook offered other services to its users during the pandemic. A survey conducted during the lockdown showed that one third of respondents used Facebook Messenger to make calls, overtaking the usage of Skype, preferred by 26 percent of individuals.