Your Teen Is Probably ‘Aura Farming’ — Here’s What It Means (& Why It’s Basically a Joke)

Yesterday, as my 13-year-old son walked past me, he dropped a piece of paper — so, as anyone would do, I picked it up to hand it back to him. When I did, he whipped out a pen and signed it, as if I’d asked for his autograph. My 15-year-old, witnessing the whole thing, laughed and then congratulated his little brother on his skill at “aura farming.”

If your tween or teen has mentioned aura farming recently and you’re wondering what the heck they’re talking about (or “what the hellyante,” as the kids say), you’re not alone. And to understand what aura farming is, you’ve first gotta know what aura is.

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As an “elder millenial” born in 1980, the word “aura” to me automatically means something spiritual — one of those new-age things I don’t entirely understand. But to my kids and apparently the rest of Gen Z, aura means something different; it’s basically how cool you are. If someone has a lot of aura, they just have that effortless it-factor. And “aura points” are just the measure of how much aura someone has (but if you do something deemed uncool, those imaginary aura points can be revoked, dropping your aura level).

What is “aura farming”?

Aura farming refers to the act of kids doing things — like hanging with the “right” crowd, posting trendy content, or flexing their lifestyle — to gain social approval or aura points. It’s all about curating an aura (i.e., their social status or coolness) that others will admire. From making sure their Instagram feed or TikTok posts give off the right vibe to picking the right activities to do with friends, aura farming is essentially a way to boost their social capital.

An example of aura farming might be posting a photo of yourself wearing the hot fashion item — the newest pair of kicks or brand label — not calling attention to the item itself, but simply being seen wearing it. Or posing in a “casual” way, like you’re not really posing at all. Or making typically-hard things look easy.

Apparently, nonchalance is the name of the game when it comes to aura farming: you’re just so awesome that not even the most amazing thing elicits a big reaction. “It’s just like looking cool without really having to do anything,” reports my 13-year-old.

And that paper-dropping autograph thing he did? That’s a joke, he tells me — a “parody” of actual aura farming. (… Did I mention he was “mewing” while he did it?)

Where does the term “aura farming” come from?

The use of the term has been attributed to a TikTok video captioned “aura farming” and posted circa December 2024, wherein a user by the name of @h.chua_212 features a clip of someone flipping a bottle which lands upright on the first try, then immediately going on to bowl a perfect strike with barely a glance at the pins (so basically, peak aura farming behavior: doing something completely awesome and making it look effortless). The term slowly gained traction, and many sources believe it was further popularized by its widespread use in online anime communities before making its way to mainstream TikTok and other social media platforms.

When aura farming goes wrong …

It wouldn’t be Gen Z slang if it weren’t confusing, right? So while aura farming is generally seen as a positive thing, it can also be used to indicate that someone is trying TOO hard to look cool. If we know one thing about Gen Z, it’s that they prize authenticity above everything — and the point of aura is in its “effortless” quality. If aura farming is seen as a purposeful and desperate attempt to gain aura, it’s frowned upon: “Bro, stop aura farming.” Someone who’s trying too hard to look cool will often get called out by their peers, who see right through the act. It’s all about being chill, and not appearing like you’re putting in actual work to gain those aura points. Think of it like this: the best way to show off your coolness is to not show off at all.

So the next time your kid talks about “aura farming,” you’ll know they’re referencing efforts to gain social clout, whether it’s through the friends they hang out with, the things they post online, or the lifestyle they project. It’s a game where — as with so many other things — the rules are constantly shifting, but one thing is for sure: authenticity always wins.

While it may seem like it’s just another way for teens to boost their social image, maybe it’s also a reflection of how much pressure they’re under to appear cool in an online world where everyone is constantly curating their lives. It can’t hurt to remind them once in a while that being genuinely themselves is always cooler than trying too hard to gain imaginary aura points.