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If you’ve been the victim of a Gen Zalpha claiming you have “negative aura” and had no idea what that meant, expect your feelings to be hurt after reading this explainer. “Aura points,” a tracking system teens use to decide whether you’re cool or not, is a phrase circulating TikTok recently. While the term aura is nothing new, Gen Zalpha has adapted it into slang that puts people in proverbial boxes.
What does ‘aura’ mean?
While the age-old definition of aura originates in the metaphysical sense––the energy or presence someone or something exudes––its use as slang was first seen in sports. Soccer, basketball, or wrestling fans used to describe athletes as having “aura” on the playing field. In this context, it meant the vibe or presence the player brought was confidence, greatness, and overall impressive. In other words, having “aura” was something admirable.
What are ‘aura points?’
However, between 2023 and 2024, TikTokers began using the phrase “aura” in conjunction with a point system like that of Harry Potter. Now, whether you are cool or not is decided by how many aura points you “gain” or “lose.” As Dumbledore added “10 points to Gryffindor!” any time Potter breathed, a Gen Alpha can bestow you 500 points for doing something they deem cool.
Take a teen, for example, who gets five laugh-reacts in the group chat for a joke they dropped. That can earn them 500 Aura points. Conversely, if no one reacts to their joke, their friend might say they “lost” aura points instead. In this instance, this person now earned “negative aura” for his failed attempt.
Anything embarrassing can cost you aura points––walking into a glass door, waving at someone who was waving at someone behind you, or forgetting to zip up your fly––and doing anything cool and effortless earns you aura points. Across TikTok and Twitter, memes involving aura points and negative aura are ubiquitous. They are used to mock others who are cringe, or used self-deprecatingly if you did something embarrassing.
How to use aura points
When it comes to using the aura points tracking system, you’re basically at the mercy of Gen Alpha. For instance, a teacher trying to relate to his students by using slang phrases like Skibidi or Rizz may think himself “cool.” However, it can have the opposite effect. A student may point at him and yell “negative aura” for being “cringe.”
But thankfully, you can take a page from TikToker and teacher Mr. Lindsey’s book and turn it right back on them: For example, call them out for having “negative aura” for disrupting the class.
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