r/dataisbeautiful • u/TheHonestRedditer • 1d ago

OC Emotional Categories in 1548 Anonymous Daily Letters Exchanged Between Strangers [OC]

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Data source: Collected from my web app Daylettr, where users anonymously write one daily note for the next user and receive a random one from the previous one. This captures raw human thoughts under guaranteed anonymity (no logins, no tracking). Full dataset: 1548 messages

Tools: Python (pandas for processing, seaborn/matplotlib for visualization). Emotions classified via keyword matching (e.g., 'hope' for words like 'hope', 'better'; expandable for nuance).

Insights: Anonymity seems to encourage positivity (even if it seems that it might do the opposite), over 60% of messages fall into uplifting categories like kindness, gratitude, and hope. But there's depth: reflection dominates when people ponder life, with rare but raw sadness or humor peeking through. It shows humanity's spectrum: supportive yet vulnerable.

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8

u/Consistent_Bat4586 1d ago

I definitely misread the title to be about letters from the 16th century

1

u/TheHonestRedditer 1d ago

Lmao sorry for the confusion!

2

u/Megarafan2025 22h ago

I didn’t realize it was the number until you said it

5

u/Ssemander 1d ago

There seem to be a lot of hope and anger in those letters:D

3

u/TheHonestRedditer 1d ago

Yeah exactly! That’s what surprised me too, the mix is really raw. Some people pour out anger, others write super hopeful messages. That contrast is kind of the beauty of it.

1

u/hadyn98 1d ago

Interesting project: some feedback. I went to the site but didn't click to read the letter because I wasn't in the mood to write one. Went back later and it won't let me view a letter because it says I've already seen my message for today. Which I haven't. Now to wait 15 hours :)