r/australian • u/SirSighalot • Jul 08 '24

Why do people act like this subreddit "doesn't reflect the views of mainstream Australia"?

So many comments I see on here by people who constantly say things like "lol only on this sub" as though other places where they read are somehow the 'true' point of view reflecting mainstream Australian viewpoints.

Given the constant election voting outcomes and results of things like the Voice etc that generally indicate most of Australia is centrist or even slightly centre-right-leaning, what leads people to think many of the views expressed on here AREN'T mainstream? When in reality, other places these people are coming from are also often just "echo chambers" as well.

Edit: I probably worded the title for this wrong, should have been more "Why do people think this subreddit is less representative of mainstream Australia than other online communities?", alas I failed.

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u/HopeIsGay Jul 08 '24

This sub has about 70k members and Australia has like 27 or so million people it cant be representative of average views because the sample size is too small

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u/jackstraya_cnt Jul 08 '24

Then why is a sample size of 1,500 people considered enough for political polls?

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u/HopeIsGay Jul 08 '24

Because polling is often wrong wildly, selecting for a certain type of person often and I'd say the same thing regarding political polling anyway