Pornhub reports bump in traffic amid government shutdown

The federal government has been shut down for nearly a month. So how are furloughed workers spending their free time?

Many are, of course, dealing with the very serious consequences of going without pay for an extended period. But in terms of what they're doing to unwind during these tense times, Pornhub offers one possible answer.

In data released Thursday, the adult video platform reports that traffic showed an average daily increase of 5.94% during the week of Jan. 7th (the shutdown's third week) over traffic in the weeks before the shutdown, which started on Dec. 22.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Now, it's important to note here that correlation doesn't equal causation. After all, it's winter and people are spending more times indoors instead of out and about and, well, people have to stay entertained somehow. No judgment here!

That said, Pornhub notes a shift with heavy increases in traffic late at night with lower traffic than usual during the morning followed by another traffic spike in the early afternoon. These patterns are similar to other events like winter storms, situations in which people might stay up later because they don't have to go to work the next day.

Additionally, Pornhub traffic in the Washington, D.C. area showed a similar spike over the same time period with an average daily increase of 6.32 percent versus pre-shutdown traffic.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Pornhub also notes the following categories showed the biggest increase in traffic during that measured time:

• Outdoor +71%

• Threesome +66%

• Old/Young +60%

Make of that what you will.

As for methodology, the week of Jan. 7th was selected by Pornhub for measurement as it was likely to no longer be affected by holiday vacations while the pre-shutdown traffic averages were taken from the weeks of December 3rd through 7th and December 10th through 17th.

Whether the spike in traffic continues remains to be seen, but for now there's no real end in sight for the shutdown.