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Teenagers Battle with Memes and Moves in 'Aura Farming' Trend
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Culture & Society

Teenagers Battle with Memes and Moves in 'Aura Farming' Trend

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • A new social media trend called 'aura farming' involves teenagers performing viral memes and internet challenges in real-life battles.
  • Participants are judged on their ability to reference numerous online trends, with winners chosen based on performance, humor, and confidence.
  • The phenomenon, popular in Latin America, is seen by some as a way for teens to connect offline, while others criticize it as a decline in culture.

Teenagers in Mexico City are engaging in "aura farming" battles, a phenomenon born on social media that has spilled onto the streets. These events feature participants performing a series of moves and poses, often mimicking viral memes and internet challenges, to the cheers of onlookers. The performances are judged on creativity, humor, and the ability to reference a wide array of online content.

When I feel scared or worried about not doing well when facing challenges, trying to do it right away is the best way to overcome it.

— Carlos Irving QuintanaA 14-year-old participant demonstrating viral moves during an 'aura farming' battle.

Carlos Irving Quintana, a 14-year-old participant, demonstrated moves like Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo's "Siuuu" leap and the TikTok trend of "mewing." His opponent countered with a "6-7," a youth meme with no fixed meaning but widespread recognition. The "aura" in this context refers to a person's style or attitude, with "100% aura" signifying effortless coolness. "Farming" relates to the repetitive tactics used to gain points in video games, applied here to accumulating "points" in the performance.

These real-life gatherings are gaining popularity across Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia, with most participants aged between 14 and 20. The winner of a recent Mexico City event was Kaled Rosales Salazar, who impressed the jury by mimicking lassoing his opponent with a giant sandal prop. Judges look for "whoever looks the best, shows it off, gets the most laughs and has the most confidence," according to organizer Aldhir Gonzalez.

Whoever looks the best, shows it off, gets the most laughs and has the most confidence wins.

— Aldhir GonzalezOrganizer of the 'aura farming' bout in Mexico City, explaining the judging criteria.

The trend has even influenced professional sports, with football clubs like Boca Juniors using "aura" memes. However, the phenomenon faces mixed reactions. While some, like Venezuelan psychologist Maria Eugenia Tovar, defend it as a way for teens to engage in "in-person encounters," others, including a mayor in Honduras who banned the battles, view it as a "dumbing down of popular culture."

can lead to in-person encounters

— Maria Eugenia TovarA Venezuelan psychologist defending the trend as a form of social interaction for teenagers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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