Between the 5th-11th of October 2014, we invited all Australians to take part in the country's largest ever mental health survey.
For seven days, users not only logged what they were feeling, but how and why they were feeling those emotions.
Below are the preliminary results.
● Female (63%)
● Male (36%)
● Other (1%)
● Straight (82.5%)
● Bisexual (7.1%)
● Gay (8.1%)
● Other (2.3%)
● 16-19 (13%)
● 20-29 (43%)
● 30-39 (22%)
● 40-49 (13%)
● 50-59 (6%)
● 60-69 (2.5%)
● 70+ (0.5%)
Single: 40% | Relationship: 29% | Married: 23% | Engaged: 4% | Divorced:3% | Widowed: 1%
Single: 40% | Some form of Relationship: 56%
● Casual / Part Time Employment (15%)
● Full-Time Employment (48%)
● Retired (2%)
● Student (27%)
● Unemployment (8%)
Participants were asked to rate their "general outlook" on life between pessimistic (1) and optimistic (10).
1 (Pessimistic): 1.7% | 2: 1.4% | 3: 4.5% | 4: 7.1% | 5 (Neutral): 11.2% | 6: 9.7% | 7: 21.9% | 8: 25.1% | 9: 7.9% | 10 (Optimistic): 9.5%
● Happy (31.2%)
● Sad (11.1%)
● Peaceful (28.8%)
● Anxious (21.3%)
● Powerful (3.2%)
● Angry (4.4%)
● Male (62.4%)
● Female (37.1%)
● Other (0.5%)
● 16-19 (10.3%)
● 20-29 (46.3%)
● 30-39 (21.4%)
● 40-49 (13.1%)
● 50-59 (6%)
● 60-69 (2.6%)
● 70+ (0.3%)
(It should be noted that the 20-29 age group logged, on average, 3% more emotions per user than any other age group. The 16-19 age logged, on average, 3% less emotions per user than any other age group.)
Number of Emotions logged per hour
It should be noted that users were able to log their emotions as frequently as every five minutes. However, by default the user was prompted by the app via notification to log their emotions either three or five times per day (corresponding with spikes).
ie; What was the user doing when they logged the emotion?
Alone: 17.4% | With Others: 8% | Eating: 6.8% | Working: 24.1% | Relaxing: 28.8% | Socialising: 6.9% | Commuting: 7.9%
As a user logged an emotion, the app would ask them to rate the "intensity" of that emotion between 0 (very mild) and 100 (extremely strong).
(as percentages)
● Total Intensity Average
● Male Intensity Average
• As the app defaulted to an intensity of "0", this value as been separated.
• It is important to note that men self-report a similar range of emotional intensity to women.
(0 = Very Weak, 100 = Very Intense)
● Happy (55) ● Sad (35) ● Peaceful (50) ● Anxious (30) ● Powerful (48) ● Angry (28)
(as percentages)
● Happy ● Sad ● Peaceful ● Anxious ● Powerful ● Angry
(as percentages)
● Happy ● Sad ● Peaceful ● Anxious ● Powerful ● Angry
We regcognise that all emotions serve a purpose and that all are appropriate in varying contexts. The following two graphs, however, clump the six base emotions into two categories: "Positive" (Happy, Peacful & Powerful) and "Negative" (Sad, Anxious, Anger).
(as percentages)
● "Positive" Emotions ● "Negative" Emotions
(as percentages)
● "Positive" Emotions
● "Negative" Emotions
#1 A total of 19 203 feelings were successfully logged. That is the equivalent of about 2 feelings being logged per minute.
#2 The most common feeling reported for the week was happiness. In fact, happiness accounted for more than 30% of the feelings logged.
#3 The second-most and third-most reported feelings were peacefulness and anxiousness, each accounting for more than 20% of feelings logged throughout the week.
#4 HIAF looked not only at individual’s feelings throughout the week, but also at the activities that they were doing when reporting their feelings. The highest proportion of reports of happiness came from those who reported that they were socialising. The highest proportion of reports of sadness came from those who reported that they were alone. NB:This doesn’t mean that being alone causes sadness, though – and it should also be noted that many people who were alone also reported feeling peaceful!)
#5 The happiest city (the one with the highest percentage of reports of happiness during the week) was Brisbane. Brisbane, however, was the least peaceful city.
#6 The most peaceful capital city during HIAF week was Hobart.
#7 The city with the highest percentage of reports of powerfulness was Perth.
#8 Which city appears to have the best commute? Well, it’s complicated...
Hobart topped the list for the highest rate of happy commuters, and the lowest rate of anxious commuters. Darwin topped the list for the highest rate of peaceful commuters. But it looks like Adelaide commuters might have a bit of an advantage – the only city to consistently rank in the top 3 out of all capital cities in terms of happiness, peacefulness, and low anxiety.
Please note: The data above is preliminary. With a dataset as large and diverse as "How Is Australia Feeling?", there is far more information to be elicited. Our next steps will focus on geography, sexuality and individual case studies. So please check back regularly!
If you or your orgnisation would like custom data, please contact us via the details below.
[The size of the dot corresponds with the intensity felt]
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"HOW IS ... FEELING?" INITIATIVES INCLUDE:
How is the World Feeling?
How is your Organisation Feeling?
How is Australia Feeling?
Other Spur Projects Include:
Soften The Fck Up
The Blue Letterbox
F.U.N.
This is a Conversation Starter (coming soon)
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