2g tuesdaysIf you’re living in a developed country like the US, fast internet is sort of a given, and in some cases even expected.  However there are still plenty of countries in the world where access to internet itself can be a struggle, let alone it being a fast connection. To help better empathize and understand such markets, Facebook has launched a new initiative at their offices.

Dubbed “2G Tuesdays”, as its name implies every Tuesday, internet speeds at Facebook will be dramatically slowed down to give the company’s employees a better idea as to how emerging markets such as India and Kenya struggle with slow internet speeds. However this will be optional and employees can choose if they want to take part in the experience for the next hour.

According to Facebook engineering director Tom Alison, “For that next hour, their experience on Facebook will be very much like the experience that millions of people around the world have on Facebook on a 2G connection. They’re going to see the places that we need to improve our product, but they’re also going to see the places where we have made a lot of progress.”

Earlier this year, Facebook had attempted to address the situation by creating a “Lite” version of its Facebook app. This was targeted at markets where internet speeds were slow, so a Lite version of the app should help with loading times. Facebook isn’t alone in their attempts either at messaging app LINE followed up with a Lite version of their chat app as well.

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