What does “aura” mean? The slang behind a viral trend

To have “aura”, in the slang of social media, is to have presence: to seem calm, confident and entirely unbothered. In comment sections, viewers hand out or take away “aura points”, as if presence could be scored.

The word gave its name to aura farming, a trend started by Taha, an entertainer who posts as tahalivestreams. In the videos, people try to show as much aura as they can.

“Farming” is borrowed from video games, where players repeat a task again and again to collect a resource. Aura farmers, in the same way, go looking for the moment that will earn them the most.

The phrase is now also used more loosely, for anyone who seems to be trying a little too hard to look effortlessly cool.