Social contagion sounds like a plague and, in many ways, it is. The concept helps explain the way behaviors, emotions, and ideas spread through social groups, much like a contagious virus. Today, social contagion plays a powerful role in the rise of people promoting and identifying with the LGBTQ agenda.

Behavior Spreads Like Wildfire

The concept of social contagion has its roots in early research on crowd psychology. Studies revealed that individuals in large groups can influence each other, often leading to behaviors that differ from what they would do on their own. Ultimately, ideas and behaviors are spread through imitation.

Social contagion is involved in everything from widespread acceptance of fashion trends to the adoption of new behaviors. The latest example of this wildfire-type spread is in the increasing identification of individuals as LGBTQ+, a trend that has grown quickly, especially in younger generations.

Gen Z Led into LGBTQ Identity

Gen Z (13-25 year olds) is the most digitally connected of any generation. Unfortunately, this makes them easy pickings for LGBTQ “influencers” who want to shape their minds and influence their morals.

At every level, LGBTQ activists push the acceptance of deviant sexual behavior and the ideas of multiple gender orientations and gender fluidity. Children and teens who follow these influencers are encouraged to mimic the behaviors, attitudes, and emotions of pro-LGBTQ peers, celebrities, or online communities. The desire to fit in then drives them to adjust their behavior to gain approval.

Once they’ve taken the bait, influencers continue to target the younger group emotionally. They are instructed to not just accept deviant behavior, but to be proud of it and promote it to their friends and social groups.

Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter have made LGBTQ identities more visible and have created spaces for young people to explore and be influenced by those who promote these identities. And all of this is done away from the eyes of parents and guardians who could speak truth into the lies they’re being fed.

LGBTQ Identification Becomes “Popular”

Recent Gallup surveys highlight a sharp increase in the number of people identifying as LGBTQ. In 2024, Gallup found that 9.3% of U.S. adults identified as LGBTQ, up from 5.5% in 2020. That’s nearly one in ten adults!

However, when looking at Gen Z, the statistics become even crazier. More than one in five Gen Z adults (23.1%) identify as LGBTQ. In contrast, 14.2% of millennials, 5.1% of Gen X, 3% of Baby Boomers, and 1.8% of the Silent Generation identify as LGBTQ. The Gen Z shift is particularly significant among women. Nearly 33%, or 1 in 3, identify as LGBTQ, compared to just 12% of Gen Z men.

David Closson, director of the Center for Biblical Worldview, spoke about the drastic rise in identification. “I’m not surprised… Every cultural institution, whether it’s the arts … [or] higher education is pushing this agenda. There’s a social contagion that is fueling those numbers.”

Because of the intense social promotion, more young people view the LGBTQ community as something popular they want to join, creating a cycle where LGBTQ identification becomes more normalized and widespread.

Truth Stronger than “Identity”

Social contagion can cause entire generations to abandon the truth that was once commonly accepted. But the truth of the Bible is more powerful than “influencers” and is certainly more than a passing trend. As usual, the Bible has a simple statement: “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” Exodus 23:2.

As we stand firm in Bible truth, let us be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us when people of all generations begin asking what makes us so very different from the world.