Why 50% Of All Voice Messaging Traffic For Facebook Messenger Comes From Cambodia

Why are Cambodians using voice messaging on Facebook Messenger of all platforms? Facebook (now under Meta) was also confused why over 50 per cent of its voice messaging traffic was coming from Cambodia in 2018.

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Now, they may finally understand why, all thanks to Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. Unknowingly, Facebook tried to figure out why, in 2018, half of all global voice traffic for Facebook Messenger was coming from Cambodia through user surveys. But that didn't bear any fruits. According to Rest of World, the answer "has less to do with Facebook, and more to do with the complexity of the Khmer language."

Reuters

Are smartphones built for local languages?

Facebook's study took into account 30 users from the Dominican Republic, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Cambodia (from where only a single person participated). 87 per cent of the respondents claimed that their primary usage of voice tools on Facebook Messenger and on WhatsApp stemmed from the need to convey a message in a language different from the one set on their apps.

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This may be difficult for some to understand. For instance, you can get your message across in Hindi by writing in the Roman script used for English alphabets. Writing in Khmer, for Cambodians isn't similar. Even though Khmer Unicode has been around since 2006, it has simply a lot to catch up on.

For starters, Khmer has 74 characters, the largest for any script around the world. For comparison's sake, English has 26 letters and Hindi has over 40 letters (11 vowels and 35 consonants).

Reuters

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While Facebook assumed it had something to do with literacy rates in a specific country, the problem was about how smartphones favour Roman characters, and for Cambodians, sending a voice note is frankly simpler than typing out a Khmer message.

Reuters

Did you know that over 50 per cent of all voice traffic for Facebook Messenger came from Cambodia? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of tech and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

Citation

Elliott, V., & Phorn, B. (2021, November 13). Fifty percent of Facebook Messenger¡¯s total voice traffic comes from Cambodia. Here¡¯s why. Rest of World.