Feifei
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I’m Feifei, and I’m joined by Beth.
Beth
Hi Feifei. Did you see Gary taking more arty pictures of his coffee this morning and posting them online? He wrote in the caption that he’s ’living his best life’. Classic aura farming.
Feifei
For sure! Everyone drinks coffee, but not everyone posts pictures of it to make themselves look cool – he’s doing it for attention or praise, and that’s what ‘aura farming’ is.
Beth
We see people ‘aura farming’ online a lot these days. People might post images of themselves doing a good deed for someone else, or might manipulate a photo to make themselves look more attractive or rich, all because they want to boost their aura – their reputation.
Feifei
Yes. A friend of mine loves going to fancy and expensive restaurants and then posting pictures of them. She’s definitely aura farming.
Beth
Yeah, it sounds like it. Sometimes it’s harmless, but sometimes it’s a bit obvious.
Feifei
Yes. Let’s listen to more examples of ‘aura farming’.
Examples
That guy’s always carrying a skateboard. He doesn’t even know how to use it. He’s just aura farming.
I went to this party – you won’t believe this. There were a couple of people there in the dark wearing sunglasses. I mean, stop aura farming, guys.
I have this friend that always poses next to sports cars and then posts them on social media, like the cars are his. He’s just aura farming. So embarrassing.
Beth
‘Aura farming’ is a very social media inspired phrase. People are ‘farming’ for likes and compliments – they’re intentionally doing actions repetitively to create a different and better image of themselves. We can also say someone is trying to earn ‘aura points’.
Feifei
Yes. This is when somebody does something to look cool. It could be genuine, or it could be an attempt to look cool for attention – to earn those ‘aura points’.
Beth
I think my brother was trying to earn ‘aura points’ on holiday. He kept looking out at the sea wearing his new cool sunglasses and asking me to take pictures of him.
Feifei
Oh dear. It sounds like he was definitely after those ‘aura points’!
Beth
You’re right!
Feifei
Well, we’ll be back next time with another useful English phrase. Goodbye for now.
Beth
Goodbye!
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