What Is ‘Auramaxxing’ and Why Are Teen Boys Into It?

This TikTok trend stresses mindfulness and trying to attain your best self.

Self-improvement is a valiant task at any age. For teens, they are likely to identify at least some of their life goals on TikTok. Just take smellmaxxing as an example of a trend that took off on the social media platform. Not familiar? It’s basically a tween and teen boy obsession with cologne and pricey cologne at that.

Another trend sweeping TikTok and catching young male attention is called auramaxxing. Think of this phenomenon as an intense focus on cultivating one’s, well, aura. Of course, this is a very general term and not a new one.

The Auramaxxing Trend

In this trend, boys seem to be conceptualizing their aura as a deep presence and self-awareness. TikTok creators like Drew Ford talk about how to boost your aura by “getting out of your head and getting into your body.” Indeed, auramaxxing involves finding ways to reduce anxiety and feel confident in your own skin.

Creator @hypebeastaaronn explains that auramaxxing is also about maximizing your physical health. That includes putting out good “vibes” by smelling good, according to creator @dimaggiosito . Oh, and if you’re looking to attract female attention, you might want to “talk less” and listen more. There’s also an emphasis on working hard to ratchet up your aura.

This all sounds pretty positive, right? One downside of the auramaxxing craze is that you can deplete your “aura points” by doing something embarrassing on video, or when a girl ghosts you. Even talking about aura in real life causes you to lose aura points according to TikTokers who create content around the concept.

Aura

(noun)

• a distinctive and pervasive quality or character; air; atmosphere
• a subtly pervasive quality or atmosphere seen as emanating from a person, place, or thing.

via dictionary.com

Auramaxxing Is A “Refreshing” Trend In Many Ways

In a society where a teen’s self-worth is often centered around what they wear and have, Giselle Ugarte , an online performance coach, and online habits expert tells Parents , “It's refreshing to see a focus on genuine self-improvement and authenticity rather than solely chasing likes and followers.”

She adds that auramaxxing seems to inspire teen boys to become more self-aware and intentional about the energy they put out in the world.

“Leveraging TikTok seems to be a clever approach, as it gamifies personal development, making it fun, engaging, and accessible to a demographic that might otherwise be resistant to talking about emotions or insecurities,” Ugarte explains

Ulrick Vieux, DO , the director of child and adolescent psychiatry education and training at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, agrees that auramaxxing’s positives include not relying on designer shoes or other status symbols to impress others. Instead, the trend relies on mindfulness and trying to attain your best self.

“Boys often are exposed to messages that promote looking a certain way, acting tough, and driving a certain type of car to feel important,” Dr. Vieux says. “This is a welcome change from the emphasis on outward appearances and misguided ideas about what makes a man admirable.”

Does Auramaxxing Create Unrealistic Standards?

Although this trend is centered around improving oneself, Teodora Pavkovic , the director of wellbeing at Linewize and a certified digital wellness educator, worries content is focused on too narrow of a definition of what manhood is.

Ugarte further cautions that auramaxxing may inadvertently promote unrealistic or even obsessive standards of perfection as a way to gain acceptance or admiration. “Anything taken to the extreme is seldom healthy,” agrees Dr. Vieux.

Furthermore, it’s important that teens understand that building confidence doesn’t happen overnight, which TikTok doesn’t often convey. “You're not going to hold the attention of everyone in a room by just walking in with your shoulders back,” Vieux points out.

In other words, cultivating an aura takes time and effort, and involves more than a single element of one’s life, which is something parents may need to help their teen fully grasp.

How To Talk To Your Teens About Auramaxxing

Like with many TikTok trends, there are positives and negatives to consider, whether your child is preoccupied with smellmaxxing or auramaxxing—or any other maxxing. The key, according to Pavkovic and the other experts we talked to, is to communicate with your child.

“We often talk about the importance of frequent and open conversations with young people about their technology use , and this trend is the perfect example of why this is so crucially important,” she says.

Pavkovic’s advice is to engage in what your child is being exposed to online, but not from a place of judgment. Rather, parents should approach the topic with an attitude of wanting to learn more. Questions you may ask your teen include “What drew you to this trend?” and “What do you think will be different in your life after you implement these steps?” Importantly, this conversation can help parents understand what their child thinks is missing in his life.

According to Dr. Vieux, auramaxxing TikToks are great conversation starters for parents and teens to discuss reaching one’s potential and living a life of fulfillment. To that end, it’s key for parents to acknowledge that the road to confidence and happiness looks different for everyone.

Similarly, Pavkovic suggests encouraging your teen to connect with healthy male role models—which will look different from family to family—offline as well. Ugarte's advice for parents is to help teens build confidence and develop healthy habits, hobbies, and coping mechanisms in addition to what they are seeing on TikTok.

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Read the original article on Parents .