Emotalizer: Government Surveillance

“Women would feel violated by Government Surveillance, but men apparently feel they have little to hide”

In this Emotalizer we asked respondents how they would feel if they found out that the Government had been reading their personal emails. Half of the people surveyed said that the main emotion they would feel is anger. Indifference was the next most commonly cited emotion (11%) followed by disgust (6%).

Women reacted with significantly stronger emotions than men. They also over-indexed on the more negative emotions compared to men. They particularly over-indexed on violated and sad, while men were more indifferent. Respondents in the lower income brackets were more likely to be angry than those with higher income if the Government were found to be reading their emails. The main emotions cited by respondents living in London were also significantly less negative than those living in the rest of England.