Expert explains 'weird' lifeguard movement caught on camera after people thought it was a fake person

Many people thought the ‘weird’ movement a lifeguard was caught doing in a viral TikTok video was proof that they were actually a robot or the product of AI, but it turns out there’s a much simpler explanation.

Anyone who’s spent time online recently will know that there’s a lot of content produced by AI knocking about, often making it hard to know what’s real and what’s been created by technology.

But sometimes it’s true life that ends up being stranger than fiction, as proven by a bizarre clip that recently went viral. Take a look:

In the footage, filmed at a swimming pool, a female lifeguard can be seen sitting in a chair watching over the pool.

She moves her head sideways, upwards and downwards in a smooth, fluid motion, her neck jerking as she changes direction.

After spotting the lifeguard, a woman started filming the strange scenes, saying: “What you think you see ain’t really real cause they here watching this robot… This a whole f**king robot that's supposed to be a lifeguard!"

“Look at this."

When the lifeguard realises she’s being filmed, she smiles and asks the woman if she’s okay.

The woman replies: “Okay, no, you are not real. No, ma’am, you are not real... You are not real, ma’am, you are The Matrix.”

TikTok

The post was later uploaded to TikTok, and started being shared on other social media sites – including on Twitter where a number of users finally explained what was going on.

In added context beneath one post – which had racked up more than 26 million views – a reader said: “This technique is known as ‘Ellis Scanning’. A popular practice by lifeguards since it [ensures] the entirety of the area is fully visually scanned, leaving very little chance of missing anything important.

They also linked to a YouTube video showing a staff member from Splash Island in Plainfield, Indiana, explaining how the system works and how it helps keep visitors safe.

TikTok

In another comment on Twitter, a former lifeguard also added: “I was certified and worked as a lifeguard for 6 years, this absolutely the correct technique for scanning a busy pool.

"Tho kudos to this guard, she is possibly the most active and responsible practitioner of this technique that I've seen. wild, imagine thinking she's AI.”

Someone else said: “I used to be a lifeguard and I can confirm that this is exactly what we did It honestly makes it a bit easier to focus on the entirety of the pool if you move your head around as you scan rather than just glance over it with only your eyes like you're watching TV.”