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Screenshot of the interactive data visualization Love by Numbers. Explore the data visualization on the project web site www.equalitycampaign.org.au/lovebynumbers.
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Screenshot of the interactive data visualization Love by Numbers. Explore the data visualization on the project web site www.equalitycampaign.org.au/lovebynumbers.
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Screenshot of the interactive data visualization Love by Numbers. Explore the data visualization on the project web site www.equalitycampaign.org.au/lovebynumbers.
Cultural Analytics Lab contributed to the new Google research project that attempted to quantify the unquantifiable: love.
Lev Manovich and Agustin Indaco collaborated with Google team Love by Numbers by providing input on the questions to be included in the survey, guidance on statistical validity, and suggestions on how the data should be visualized and presented to a wide audience.
Visit the project web site: www.equalitycampaign.org.au/lovebynumbers.
Data
The project Love by Numbers asked thousands of people from all over Australia to share their thoughts and experiences about love. The questions, asked via Google Surveys, ranged from “what's an acceptable public display of affection” to whom they love, how deeply they feel it, and whether they believe in marriage equality. The data for this project was collected via Google Surveys between January 14 and February 14, 2017.
Findings
The result of the research project is an interactive data visualization that reveals, among other findings, that 45% of Australians say they are in love right now, people in their twenties feel love five times more intensely than everyone else, and that 63% of Australians think it is fair to make same-sex marriage legal in Australia. Visit the project web site to learn more: www.equalitycampaign.org.au/lovebynumbers.
Context
After many months of backlash and political debates, the motion to legalize same sex marriage was dropped in Australia. The team at Google Australia decided to put together an interactive visualization that shows trends of how Australians feel, demonstrate, and think about love. The project Love by Numbers web site www.equalitycampaign.org.au/lovebynumbers was launched on March 4, 2017, the same day the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade took place.