There are several now very popular genetic ancestry tests online and they are great. They help you finding your ancestors and tracing your lineage. They typically show what kind of mix you are, by what races you were created. These websites are marketed as promoting diversity, but scientists from the University of British Columbia found that users are still cherry picking which races to identify with.

Ancestry testing is a huge industry nowadays. People are taking samples of their saliva and sending them to these companies that are claiming to use DNA to check your ancestry. For example, they can determine (or so they claim) what percentage of you is from Africa and what from Asia. While some people are trying to debunk these methods and inaccurate, other people claim to have gotten perfectly reasonable and accurate results. But why people are looking for this information in the first place? Scientists think that it might be because they are looking for a sense of belonging. But if so, many of them are doing it wrong.

People want to have this information so that they could pass it down to their children, but they often choose which parts of results is significant to them. Scientists interviewed 100 American genetic ancestry test users who said they identified before the test as white, black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, or Native American. Participants had to answer some questions about their ethnic identity. Then 18 months after the ancestry test results came in they were questioned again to see if their perceptions have changed. And, of course, they did, but people included only those parts that they really wanted.

For example, one participant identified as a white Mexican-American, but got tests results showing he has Native American, Celtic and Jewish blood. However, he completely disregarded all of them, except Jewish, because he always likes Jewish culture. Some other participants disregarded the test as incorrect if it didn’t match their existing beliefs about their ancestry. White people were more open to embrace different roots if they knew other people are going to accept them.

While these tests may be fun, scientists warn people not to misinterpret their meaning. Wendy Roth, lead author of the study, said: “Some tests can be useful for helping people track down long-lost relatives who are genetic matches, if they’re lucky. But people who use these tests to determine their race or inform their sense of identity should be aware that this isn’t the right way to think about it”.

Source: University of British Columbia