All about aura
It’s been a popular concept on social media for a couple of years now, and it’s even become part of spoken language for many within Gen Z and Generation Alpha.
Would you know what someone meant if they said you’d earnt 500 aura points? Or that they were into auramaxxing? What about aura farming? And don’t even get us started on aura battles…
Don’t worry – here, BBC Bitesize has put together a guide to the term, including where it came from, how to use it and what it might say about us.
What is an aura?
When you hear the word ‘aura’, you might think of a feeling or atmosphere that emanates from something – a person, place or object.
A haunted house might have an aura of mystery, or a new student at school might give off a confident aura. It’s the vibe you get from something.
In spirituality, an aura is an invisible energy field that surrounds every living thing. It’s like a mirror that reflects your health and emotional state, with its colour changing depending on things like your mood, stress levels and environment.
Fans of the TV show Friends might remember Phoebe telling Ross that his aura is ‘murky’ and trying to cleanse it for him, because he’s going through a hard time emotionally.
What are aura points?
Recently, though, ‘aura’ has taken on a slightly different definition as a slang term used mainly by Gen Z (1997-2012) and Gen Alpha (2013-2024).
The meaning is similar, in that it refers to a person’s cool factor – their charisma, confidence or presence. The new aspect is the system of aura points, whereby someone can gain or lose aura depending on their actions.
It’s a bit like playing a video game – a hobby that is incredibly popular amongst these age groups. Gaming is the most popular form of media consumption for Gen Alpha, with almost 90% of UK teens in this cohort playing video games on a typical day.
You can gain aura points by being cool or smooth, and lose them by doing something embarrassing or awkward. They’re imaginary, and the system is generally meant to be a playful, tongue-in-cheek joke.
Some have seen the more serious side, though, with philosophers and other academics weighing in. It's been argued that aura points are a way of measuring our social worth or a type of honour code. They've even been compared to Aristotle's idea of virtue ethics - a system whereby someone's character is judged by their actions and how they're perceived by the community.
What is aura farming?
That’s all well and good – but how do you go about actually gaining aura points?
The whole idea behind aura is that it’s cringe to be seen trying too hard, such as by bragging or chasing validation for things like your outfit or a joke. It’s about being effortless and not caring too much about what others think – sigma, if you will.
But there is a term for deliberately trying to gain aura points rather than just being your natural self: aura farming. Ideally, you’d pull this off without it looking like you were trying at all.
‘Farming’ is a term borrowed from video games like Minecraft, in which you carry out tasks to earn points or in-game items. But the line between cool and cringe can be thin…
Where did aura and aura farming come from?
We’ve already seen how ‘aura’ itself isn’t a new concept – the word dates back to Ancient Rome and Greece. It’s the name given to a Greek goddess who was the personification of the breeze.
The term became popular on social media among sports fans in the early 2020s, after an article in the New York Times described one football player as having an ‘imposing aura’.
The concept of aura points already existed in some form by this time, with earlier memes comparing ‘weak aura’ and ‘strong aura’ – for example, whether using an iPhone made you cooler than an Android user.
The points system then developed on TikTok, with exact values assigned to different actions – you might lose 500 points for tripping over your own shoelace or gain 2,000 points for walking confidently down a corridor.
How can I aura farm?
Picture the scene: you stride confidently into a party in sunglasses, wearing an effortlessly put-together outfit that incorporates the latest trends but still shows off your unique style.
The look is deliberate, but crucially, the people around you don’t get the impression you’ve spent hours agonising over what to wear or what they’ll think of you. Congratulations – you’ve successfully aura farmed.
On the other hand, if you entered the room in an outfit covered in designer logos and spent the whole time name-dropping the brands, you might be deemed cringe. Add in that you keep posing for photos in a staged, overly-rehearsed way and you’ve definitely lost aura points.
What are aura battles?
Another related term is ‘auramaxxing’, a spin on the term looksmaxxing that focuses on optimising your confidence and social standing rather than just your physical appearance. You might do this by improving your posture, staying composed in chaotic situations, practising good personal hygiene or learning new things by reading or pursuing hobbies.
But if you thought aura and aura farming only existed in the realm of social media, think again. Some young people have taken to the streets in ‘aura battles’ – in which two people compete to see who has the most aura, judged by a crowd.
This is particularly popular in South America. In 2026, content creators in countries including Brazil and Peru organised live, in-person aura battles, and the trend spread elsewhere to places like Mexico City and Buenos Aires.
Participants compete by striking poses, acting out memes or performing short dance routines. The first aura battle in the United States took place in New York on 30 August. As of October 2026, there hasn’t been a widespread or official aura farming battle in the UK.
