YouGov recently polled Americans on their perceptions about the size of certain minorities and majorities, among other demographic groups. Perception rarely matches reality. Why is that? Is it the growing power and influence of the mainstream media, social media, and the entertainment industry that shapes and obfuscates Americans' understanding and attitudes about certain groups and identities?
From YouGov:
"When it comes to estimating the size of demographic groups, Americans rarely get it right. In two recent YouGov polls, we asked respondents to guess the percentage (ranging from 0-100%) of Americans who are members of 43 different groups, including racial and religious groups, as well as other less frequently studied groups, such as pet owners and those who are left-handed.
When people's average perceptions of group sizes are compared to actual population data, an intriguing pattern emerges: Americans tend to vastly overestimate the size of minority groups. This holds true for sexual minorities, including the proportion of gays and lesbians (estimate – 30%, true size – 3%), bisexuals (estimate – 29%, true size – 4%), and people who are transgender (estimate – 21%, true size – 0.6%).
It also applies to religious minorities, such as Muslim Americans (estimate – 27%, true size – 1%) and Jewish Americans (estimate – 30%, true size – 2%). And we find the same sorts of overestimates for racial and ethnic minorities, such as Native Americans (estimate – 27%, true size – 1%), Asian Americans (estimate – 29%, true size – 6%), and Black Americans (estimate – 41%, true size – 12%)."
Go figure.
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