You Might Be Losing ‘Aura Points’ and Not Even Know It

Once the domain of mystics and hippies, “aura” has recently gotten a masculine Gen Z rebrand. It no longer only refers to the hidden spirit that surrounds a person—the one that inspired “Amber is the color of your energy,” the immortal line from crunchy rap-rock band 311’s signature hit—but rather, how cool or cringe that person comes across to others. And people online are keeping score.

If you’ve ever played a first-person video game, you’re familiar with the concept of controlling a character that loses and gains points as it encounters attacks or discovers food or medicine. In the real world of 2024, when we commonly dismiss strangers on the street as NPCs (non-playable characters), it only makes sense that we would treat our aura as a finite resource, damaged when we embarrass ourselves (by, say, giving a girl the ick) and boosted when we do something slick.

“Aura is all about the energy you give off,” says Aidan Smith, a 16-year-old from Atlanta who posted one of the earliest TikTok videos popularizing the trend. “Some tips I would give to anyone looking to increase their aura is to just have confidence in everything you do and make sure you carry yourself like that.”

The trend has evolved since it first surfaced in April, when, according to Know Your Meme, user @haskell_rzz posted a video of himself bumping into a classmate in the hallway and, instead of rising to his aggressive reaction, gently kissed him on the forehead. “Probably the most aura I have ever used on a pawn,” reads the video text. (Pawns, not to be confused with NPCs, are side characters in video games.) Haskell, in other words, extended some of his aura potential adversary, and in so doing, created the idea of aura as currency—something measurable.

Smith posted his own spin on the trend—a riff on a different video he saw in April—on May 1, saying he had lost 572 aura points for tripping in front of a group of girls. “the video is goated (sent 90 aura)” responded one commenter; another suggested a way to recover: Say “‘sorry i fell for yall’ +572 aura.”

“This whole aura generation we’re in, everything’s about looking cool,” says West, the TikTokker who helped pioneer the idea of rawdogging flights (and, in turn, the concept of rawdogging virtually anything else, from concerts to life itself). “POV: A baddie walks past and sees you watching cars 2 instead of the inflight map,” West captioned a June 3 video. “-370 aura.”

The term has now been adopted by men and women alike to share uniquely disappointing or satisfying life events. “How many aura points did I lose when I had to consistently get STD tested while pregnant because the dad can’t keep it in the pants,” one user posted. Another: “How many aura points did I GAIN by stepp[ing] aside from my bf’s casket when his ex shows up so she can have closure too.”

But there are other, more universal aura losses and gains. Crying in a meeting, going back to an ex, and accidentally sending a message to the person that the message is about are sure to deplete your aura, but you can gain the points back by responding calmly to a breakup, forgiving and forgetting, and not using the railing when you walk up and down stairs.

For some, particularly men, cultivating aura has become a lifestyle. “Auramaxxing,” as The Cut reported earlier this week, is essentially an umbrella term that encompasses previous trends in male physical “improvement” like looksmaxxing and heightmaxxing. Creators on TikTok, such as Frankie Meki or Hype Beast Aaron, have become motivational speakers of sorts, promising men increased aura if they follow their advice about exercising and taking care of your skin. If aura is the new cool, competitive care is overtaking self-care.