WTF Are Aura Points? TikTok’s Latest Slang Explained By Your Gen Z Spirit Guide

Ah, another day, another TikTok term we’re all too embarrassed to admit we don’t understand at all. And trending right now? Aura points. Odds are, you’re reading this because as you were scrolling down your FYP you saw a handful of videos of people asking “how many aura points did I lose…” based off an interaction with a past crush or ex. Maybe they’ve mentioned staying with someone after finding out they’d been cheating or even begging someone to take them back.

Aura points are kind of like an ethics-based ranking system where every time you do something toxic that would harm you (like, getting really into someone who doesn’t care about you) it damages your aura (aka loses points). Most of these situations involve a failed situationship — but it doesn’t have to! It’s essentially your “cool factor,” so if something embarrassing happens, you lose points.

But if you’re still confused, don’t worry. Here’s a breakdown on all things “aura points” so that you too can understand the latest TikTok slang (or at least stop getting so pissed off scrolling through TikTok because you want to be cool too).

What does aura mean on TikTok?

After doing a deeper dive I realized that while a lot of the videos about aura points did involve something about an ex, they don’t necessarily have to go hand-in-hand. In the simplest terms, aura points are basically like cool points. No one knows how many aura points they currently have, but they know that the things they do will affect some sort of total we never know about. And when you do something that’s embarrassing (or anything that tramples on your self-worth) you lose aura points.

The fact that people are mostly talking about their exes make sense. I mean, what other situation truly brings out the worst in you than liking someone? Remember how recently everyone on TikTok decided to expose the cringiest things they’ve done for crushes? I don’t know what it is about people humiliating themselves on TikTok, but it’s hilarious so please continue.

But the trend doesn’t just focus on losing aura points. In the more than 43 million videos posted to #aurapoints, there are some videos that talk about gaining aura points. For example, “How many aura points did I gain when I finally moved on?”

So essentially, aura points are all about the little things we do everyday and how they affect how cool we are — or how great our “aura” is.

How Do I Join The Aura Points Trend?

If for some reason you enjoy exposing your most embarrassing experiences on the internet, you might want to join in and make an “aura points” video of your own. First, you have to use the trending sound — which for some reason is a snippet of: “I know that you love me, you don’t need to remind me” from Billie Eilish’s song “Wildflower.”

Then, you just need to think about something that either makes you really proud of yourself or something that makes you want to hide under a rock. Record a short video of your face with you just looking around and add the text, “How many aura points did I gain when…” or “How many aura points did I lose when…” and fill in the blank. I personally will not be partaking but I promise to like yours.