u/Randomdoomscroller_8

I'm an ethnic Uzbek, and I recently ran a simple personal experiment.

I created two HelloTalk accounts.

Account A

Uzbek name

Uzbekistan flag

Account B

English name

Canada flag

Everything else was intentionally identical.

The profile picture was the exact same photo of my real face.

Both accounts belonged to me.

I used each account for exactly two weeks.

I interacted with people in the same way.

I'm not claiming to be exceptionally attractive. I'd describe myself as average, maybe slightly above average.

What happened

On the Uzbek account:

I did not receive any private messages.

Almost nobody complimented my appearance.( And those compliments were from other uzbeks only)

My requests to join voice stages were often ignored.

I generally felt invisible compared to many other users.

On the Canadian account:

People frequently messaged me first.

I was regularly told I was "handsome," "cute," or "beautiful."

I received invitations to stages without asking.

People seemed noticeably more interested in talking to me.

The strange part is that my appearance never changed.

Same face, same person but different flag.

If changing only my nationality changes how strangers judge my attractiveness, friendliness, or worth, then nationality itself appears to influence first impressions.

As an Uzbek, this is difficult to ignore.

I often hear people say Uzbeks are treated differently. Before this experiment, I wasn't sure if that was true or just confirmation bias.

After experiencing both identities myself, I'm much less certain that it's just my imagination.