…to think Mumsnet data could be fascinating!

[JustAnotherNameChange2026]

AIBU to think Mumsnet data analysis would be fascinating… and to wonder if it already exists?

This might be a bit nerdy so please be kind 😅 but I was wondering whether Mumsnet ever does proper data analysis on posts over time for anything other than marketing?

Given how many years of posting there is, it feels like a goldmine for understanding how women are actually feeling about the world in a given moment.

Things I’d love to see analysed, for example:

Sentiment analysis over time – are posters generally more negative/positive in certain years?
Do big national or global events show up clearly? (pandemics, elections, cost-of-living crisis, etc)
Are there spikes in “I’m miserable” / “at breaking point” type threads during certain periods?
Do women post more negatively during major football tournaments like the World Cup? 😂 (half joking… half not)
Seasonal effects – January gloom vs summer optimism
School holidays: more threads about burnout, relationship strain, or mental load?
How language around motherhood, work, or relationships has changed over the last 10–15 years
How certain boards skew more anxious/angry/supportive over time

AIBU to think this would be genuinely interesting (and potentially quite powerful), rather than creepy or pointless?

And does anyone know if Mumsnet already does this sort of analysis behind the scenes, or releases anything like it publicly? Other than for marketing/advertising purposes which is all I can seem to find online.

So AIBU, or would you read the hell out of this too?

No doubt Mumsnet uses the info to help advertisers target better:

We used it at Mumsnet to build MumsGPT, which uncovers and summarises what parents are thinking about – everything from beauty trends to supermarkets to politicians – and we licensed OpenAI’s API (application programming interface) to build it.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/28/mumsnet-ai-google-openai-publishing-copyright

The thing I would be most interested in is how the "type" of person on Mumsnet compares to the "type" of person on other forums.

So create markers like how positive or negative we feel after each election day or news event, how we feel towards certain sports, how we react to current events, and generate the same markers for other forums too.

What other online forums are we most similar to? Are we more like PistonHeads, or more like MoneySavingExpert? What other online communities are we most or least aligned with? How unique are we? How homogenous or heterogeneous are we compared to other forums?

I’m more concerned that their archiving is being done well. In terms of social history, Mumsnet is an absolute goldmine. Reactions to major events, elections, tracking changes in attitudes, education, sexuality, family dynamics, social media use etc… it’s going to be invaluable (if it’s archived correctly) for social historians of the future.