Individuals are clarifying the meaning behind the trending term ‘aura farming’.
As a mid-millennial, it’s easy to resign yourself to the notion that you no longer belong to the ‘cool’ crowd, although to be honest, some of us never really fit in from the start.
Eventually, you reach a stage where using a ‘trendy’ and ‘fresh’ slang term signifies that it is neither trendy nor fresh anymore.
As Grandpa Simpson once said: “I used to be with it, then they changed what it was.”
The bright side is that with age, these things start to matter less.
However, if you are curious about the meaning of ‘aura farming’, perhaps to jokingly use it and make a Gen Alpha in your life uncomfortable, here is what you need to know.
This term has gained traction on social media, yet it has no connection to agriculture.
The ‘farming’ aspect refers to someone attempting to increase a particular quality, similar to how one might establish a system in a video game to collect resources.
In this scenario, it isn’t a tangible item being cultivated but rather the perception of someone being particularly cool or impressive.
‘Aura farming’ occurs when an individual goes above and beyond to appear cool, akin to being ‘extra’ in older slang, but with a positive twist.
Take note Gen Z, your slang is also becoming outdated.
But don’t just rely on this millennial relic’s (rawr!) interpretation; let’s see what the internet has to say.
Someone posted on Reddit seeking clarity on ‘aura farming’, receiving numerous responses.
One user explained: “Okay, so ‘Aura’ is basically a term for someone doing something really badass. Coming from a Gen Z’er, it’s kind of an unnecessary phrase, we already have words for aura, called ‘cool’ and ‘badass.'”
They further elaborated: “It’s used a lot for anime characters, specifically the ones with a lot of cool shots of them stanced up looking hard as f*ck. For example, when Ichigo don’s his hollow mask, people would see the pose he makes and say his aura is immaculate, basically saying he looks cold as hell.”
Another person succinctly stated: “When you’re trying to flex by doing something cool that is kind of unnecessary to do. Basically trying to do something to make you look badass.”
So, someone attempting a 360 at the skate park is no longer ‘radical’ but ‘aura farming’.
It could be worse; we could still be trying to make ‘fetch’ a thing – if you’re not a millennial, that reference might go over your head.