Let’s be honest: almost every teen has taken an online quiz at some point in their lives. Even if you haven’t, you’ve probably seen ads for those “Am I Gay?” quizzes (more on that later). Sometimes, it seems like there’s a quiz for everything out there. 

   As fun as it can be to find out which Power Ranger you are, we all know deep down that these quizzes aren’t all that serious. In fact, a lot of them aren’t even accurate. But just how inaccurate can they be?

     I set out to answer that exact question. After falling down a rabbit hole of countless rounds of bizarre questions with even more bizarre results, I can now conclude that online quizzes are even crazier than I could have imagined. Here is what happened.

     It started with a simple Google search: “What is my favorite color?” Four quizzes, all from different websites, immediately popped up on my screen. My idea was to take all four and compare the results. Surely, at least one site could get my favorite color correct, right?

First Quiz: Wikihow

      This quiz had 12 questions, mostly about preferences and personality traits. One of my personal favorites was, “You’re in an Escape Room. What’s Your Team Role?” While deciding how to answer these questions was nice, I didn’t understand how they could possibly relate to finding my favorite color. I answered as honestly as I could, although sometimes I simply could not relate to any of the options provided for me. Once I finished, I was surprised to see that my final result was yellow. While this answer was wrong, it wasn’t exactly too far off, either. It gave me hope that one of the other three tests would get the answer correct.

Second Quiz: Buzzfeed

     This was, by far, the most unique quiz I took. Instead of asking standard questions, I was prompted to select the picture I liked best out of an assortment. Most of the pictures featured the outdoors in some way, and all of them were breathtaking. It was difficult for me to pick sometimes, so some of my answers were random. Questions about pictures honestly make the most sense for a quiz attempting to discern a person’s favorite color. In theory, a person should be drawn to photos that feature their favorite color. However…that theory did not work in my favor. My final result? Black.

      And so the quizzing continues…

Third Quiz: Quiz Expo

      This 20-question quiz promises a “99% accurate guess of your favorite color.” Such a bold statement must have be true— because absolutely everything on the Internet is accurate…

       Nah, we all know that’s not how it works. Of course, I had to investigate (and maybe a tiny part of me hoped it would actually get my favorite color right). The questions on this quiz were pretty similar to the ones from the Wikihow quiz, except there were far more answers to choose from. I felt like I could be more honest because the variety allowed for nuance. Could this be why the quiz claimed to be 99% accurate?

      My final result was blue. Don’t get me wrong, blue is a nice color, but it’s not my favorite. Either I was part of the unlucky 1% of people whose results weren’t accurate…or the website had just straight-up lied to me.

Fourth Quiz: ProProfs

     This was it—the final quiz. Wrong result after wrong result had led me to this very spot. Could ProProfs finally achieve what no online test before it could achieve? Could they guess my favorite color?

     Spoiler alert: This quiz was bonkers.

     It had only ten questions, but almost all of them were so out there that they might as well have been in the stratosphere. One of the most normal ones was, “Have you ever run a stop sign purposely?” I was chuckling the entire time over the sheer absurdity! In addition to that, would you like to know what my final result was?

      Pink.

     Well, it appears that none of the four quizzes could guess my favorite color (it’s green, in case you were wondering). While disappointed, I wasn’t exactly surprised, either.  If the quizzes could not correctly guess a color, then what does that mean for quizzes pertaining to more serious topics?

     Do you remember what I mentioned at the beginning about “Am I Gay?” quizzes? It is likely that, if you have spent a decent amount of time on the Internet, you have stumbled across an advertisement for one of them. Sure, they can be fun to try if you are already secure in your identity and are simply curious as to what the results will be. However, for those questioning their orientation or gender identity, these quizzes cannot substitute for self-exploration. They may be able to help, but at the end of the day, your identity is only something only you can define for yourself. Self-discovery is not a destination so much as it is a journey. It is possible that you could change your mind or find something entirely new at any point. This is normal, and you are valid no matter what. 

     Having completed all of the quizzes, I came to realize that, no, not all online quizzes are accurate. In their defense, how could they possibly be? There is so much more complexity to humans than what can be conveyed in an online quiz with four possible answers to choose from per question. Also, most of what you’ll find on Buzzfeed and other similar sites has been created by average people who just want others to have fun. However, there are personality tests out there, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, that have been crafted by dedicated researchers and typically tend to be more accurate and nuanced. 

     Whether you care about the accuracy of online quizzes or not, many agree that they are a great way to have fun and explore your interests. After all, isn’t that what the Internet was made for?