When I first came across the social media platform, TikTok, I was confused to find that people had risen to stardom by showcasing their lip-syncing talents. They were getting thousands or even millions of likes by moving their lips in time to someone else’s words, songs, or comedy routines. My thought was that if these ideas or words weren’t original to them, then what exactly was the point? As you scroll through posts on the app, you start to see that it primarily consists of one person after the other doing the exact same thing.

Is The Grass Real Or Is It Astroturf?

This doesn’t just happen on TikTok. There are many other apps, platforms, and programs that operate on the same principle which is, to get attention by following the current trend. Behind the scenes there are often major marketing firms working around the clock to create what appears to be a trend that started organically or is grass roots. Sometimes that does happen, but more often it is not what’s happening. Marketing tactics disguised as grass roots are now what’s known as astroturfing, a practice of masking the sponsor of a message or organization. It’s important to at least understand that this might be true as you’re participating and that you’re being controlled and manipulated to some degree. Now, as you see so many people concerned about following the script, you can take a look at the world around you and realize you’re being surrounded by a sea of actors (not the script writers) many of whom are playing the exact same part.

What is Lip-sync Society?

Across the globe we are collectively increasing the methods and means by which we are copying and mimicking what we see and hear around us. We’ve been trained to parrot the ideas of others. Our kids are engaged in dialogue with their friends constantly and continuously, sharing the play-by-play and color commentary of their lives, mostly mundane, making independent thinking tougher than ever. The sense of privacy is diminishing. Having a mostly personal life is no longer normal. There’s such a push to be relatable that it has etched away at the discomfort that used to happen when someone aired their dirty laundry. We flip or scroll through news channels and hear broadcasters repeating the same dialogue, almost word for word. The gap between differing cultures from city to city and state to state is narrowing. Electronic connectivity has made it almost impossible to escape. Lip-sync society is in full effect

Lip-Sync Peer Pressure

After high school, most of us found relief from that unrelenting pressure to think, look and feel the exact same as everyone else. We grew in our confidence to boldly adhere to our values and beliefs, being minimally swayed by outside influence. Yet here we are, right back to it through the constant torrent of influence that’s all around us. It can be a lot to keep up with, especially if your personal convictions are telling you something other than what you’re being batter-rammed with from outside of your spirit. Your ability to sense your own beliefs has been receiving an anesthetic for years. We are in the stages of the paralysis of your power to know or be certain of something that comes from within…to hear and interpret the voice of God. The drugged and incoherrent conscience is everywhere…churches, schools, charitable organizations, communities and our governing entities.

Independence Of Thought

It has become easier to portray ourselves as highly polished and produced, especially as we continue to blend into the collective. Your independent thoughts and words might seem scattered and messy in comparison, but they are imporant. Maybe just not in the immediately profound way that you’d originally imagined for yourself, but still, no less significant. The voices that are heard on platforms where they receive measurable support and accolades, further emboldens them and in turn, intimidates your independence of thought. Recognition that costs a person nothing, holds no value and you shouldn’t let it silence you.

You think, feel, and believe the way that you do because you have been born with a spirit that senses things more deeply than what is tangible. Lip-sync society desires to squelch your spirit, but the superseding truth is that you still have a right to your own conscience. With that right comes a powerful means to know and understand the verity versus the impersination of the world around you.