According to Urban Dictionary, aura “is a spiritual belief that humans have a color around them that some can see,” but another way to think about it when it comes to the slang version of the word used by Generation Alpha is to think about aura like vibe points, in the sense you can gain and lose aura.
One way you will see the term aura in various trends is as a point system. If a content creator were to make a video detailing something embarrassing they did, they might add a caption that says, ¨How much aura did I lose when…?¨ It is a way to ask how embarrassing something is without stating this directly. It is a point system that is based loosely on what is considered cool or embarrassing by Gen Alpha on social media and in real life. When someone does something embarrassing like falling on the concrete in soccer cleats when trying to get their soccer ball because their friend can't pass it to them to save their life, you call them out on it, especially when it happens in front of other people, and the way you can do that is by taking away some of their aura or vibe points from them.
But not everyone gets it.
¨Just a person's general feel, like the attitude they put out … the positive or negative energy that surrounds them. Just sort of how everyone reacts to their presence,¨ is what Jeffrey Raymond, an Epic Charter School teacher, said aura is to him, but he hasn't heard any of his students use it so far.
Raymond teaches several middle school and high school classes, and despite his best efforts he has struggled to understand the younger generations' slang.
Raymond has two young sons, and while they aren’t on social media, he’s less worried about their vocabulary and more about how social media will affect their mental health and how they view their self worth. Which is another big issue with social media. While the fun trends that go viral are a big plus and give social media users something they can relate to, they can also be a gateway into self-esteem issues, cyber bullying, severe mental health issues and misplaced self worth.
Raymond said with all of the slang constantly changing and how even his own students won’t be using the same slang two years from now, it's incredibly difficult and maybe not even worth it to try and keep up. Language in general is constantly changing and evolving, especially with new generations adding new terms to their vocabulary. These new terms can be confusing or just seem like their children's brains are being ruined to older generations, but a reason they exist is because it gives each generation something they can say about something else in a way that gives them a sense of community. Every generation has their slang that connects them and is almost like a secret code that only they can understand completely.
In a way, it’s pretty cool. If “cool” still counts as acceptable slang. Raymond isn’t sure. Maybe adults aren’t supposed to know such things. After all, isn’t that the purpose of slang?
What is your favorite current slang word?
Rizz
Aura
Skibidi toilet
Yeet