No.35 

Measuring Britain’s Mood has never been more appropriate…

* An insight into Britain’s Mood, measured weekly and published by YouGov. This data is an extension of my research into how the individual perceives the future, an enquiry initiated by my creation of “The Future is…” cards. 

YouGov.co.uk measures Britain’s mood on a weekly basis, asking the nation to select which emotions and feelings best describe their weeks’ mood. The following is a list of emotions provided by YouGov for participants to pick from: 

• Happy. 
• Sad. 
• Energetic. 
• Apathetic. 
• Inspired. 
• Frustrated. 
• Optimistic. 
• Stressed. 
• Content. 
• Bored. 
• Lonely. 
• Scared. 
• Other. 
• Don’t know. 

*6th-9th March:: 

1. Happy – 50%. 
2. Stressed – 42%.
3. Frustrated – 35%. 
4. Content – 29%. 
5. Sad – 27%. 
6. Optimistic – 24%. 
7. Bored – 21%> 
8. Lonely – 19%. 
9. Apathetic – 18%. 
10. Energetic -16%. 
11. Scared – 13%. 
12. Inspired – 11%. 
13. Other – 6%. 
14. Don’t know -2%.  

*13th-19th March:: 

1. Stressed – 45%. 
2. Happy – 39%. 
3. Frustrated – 36%. 
4. Sad – 24%. 
5. Scared – 21%. 
6. Optimistic – 17%. 
7. Apathetic – 14%. 
8. Energetic – 12%. 
9. Inspired – 8%. 
10. Don’t know – 3%.

*20th-23rd March:: 

1. Stressed – 50%. 
2. Frustrated – 41%. 
3. Scared – 36%. 
4. Sad – 31%. 
5. Happy – 25%. 
6. Bored – 19%. 
7. Optimistic – 16%. 
8. Content – 13%. 
9. Apathetic – 12%. 
10. Energetic – 10%. 
11. Other – 7%. 
12. Don’t know – 2%. 

*Key points:: 

• Happiness down by 50% within last two weeks. 
• Stress levels are increasing, with an increase of 8% over the past two weeks. 
• Frustrations are rising across the board, up 5% in the last week. 
• Sadness levels are gradually increasing. 
• Optimism and hopeful attitudes have faced a harsh decline from 24% two weeks ago to 16% this week. 
• Those identifying with being scared and fearful has grown, with an increase of 23% over the past two weeks. 
• Over the past two weeks alone, an increasing number of the British public are facing feelings of uncertainty, stress, frustrations, fear, sadness and boredom- whilst happiness, optimism, energy levels and feeling of content are on the decline. As the global pandemic Covid-19 has hit the UK over the past couple of weeks, and with PM Boris Johnson tightening lockdown restrictions on Monday 23rd March 2020. The British public are now urged to stay-at-home, allowed to leave the home for limited reasons…unless a key worker. Individuals are able to leave the house to purchase essentials and to exercise once-a-day. With the death toll from the deadly virus dramatically increasing each day, residents of the UK are facing a surge in negative emotions and feelings. Resulting in a holistically, pessimistic mood within the UK [in comparison to prior data collected].