"The 'Aura' Takes the World by Storm: From 'Brain-Bugging' Memes to AI Distrust - A Comprehensive Look at Social Buzzwords in 2025"

"The 'Aura' Takes the World by Storm: From 'Brain-Bugging' Memes to AI Distrust - A Comprehensive Look at Social Buzzwords in 2025"

2025年12月05日 09:51

1. "The Internet in Words: A Retrospective of 2025" by Sprout Social

Sprout Social, a leading company in social media management and analytics, has released its first "Social Media Dictionary," providing a quantitative retrospective of social media in 2025.


The company analyzed a year's worth of conversation data across major social media platforms, visualizing in a ranked format "which words moved people's timelines and culture the most." The Word of the Year was "Aura," which recorded 3.19 billion impressions.investors.sproutsocial.com


What makes this dictionary interesting is that it doesn't just highlight trendy words; it also deciphers the "trajectory" of how words born in niche communities spread into global culture. Based on the social intelligence accumulated through Sprout Social's listening function, it shows how AI-driven content discovery and community-driven movements are rewriting language itself.investors.sproutsocial.com


From here, we will follow the symbolic keywords featured in the dictionary along with the actual atmosphere of social media.


2. Word of the Year "Aura"—The Era of "Aura Amplification"

In 2025, the word "Aura" flooded timelines. According to Sprout Social, "Aura" generated 3.19 billion impressions across major social media platforms, earning it the title of Word of the Year.investors.sproutsocial.com


What is notable is how it was used.
Originally, "Aura" was a sensory concept meaning atmosphere or "vibe,"

  • aura-farming: The act of mass-producing posts that make one's "aura look good" to catch the algorithm's attention

  • aura-maxxing: Maximizing "aura value" through fashion, filters, and lifestyle presentation

These derivatives evolved into keywords symbolizing "self-branding" in the social media era. Aura first gained traction in communities of sports fans and fashion enthusiasts, then spread as a meme, quickly rising to the level of mass culture.investors.sproutsocial.com


Social Media Reactions: People Exhausted by Aura, People Embracing It

On platforms like X and TikTok,

  • "In 2025, the most drained thing might have been 'aura'"

  • "I've done so much aura-farming that my real-life HP is zero"

Self-deprecating jokes like these flowed through timelines, making visible the honest feelings of users tired of "amplifying aura." Meanwhile, fashion and beauty influencers used Aura as a positive self-branding term, with phrases like "Today's aura fit" and "This perfume boosts aura by 30%."


The coexistence of people who see the same word as a "symbol of exhaustion" and those who use it as a "tool for self-expression" reflects the multilayered nature of social media in 2025.


3. Labubu—The "Ugly-Cute Monster" That Exposed Consumer Culture

One of the top words was "Labubu," a character created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and developed by Chinese toy maker Pop Mart. Known for its fluffy fur and slightly eerie yet adorable "ugly-cute" appearance, Labubu garnered over 5.8 million mentions on social media in 2025.investors.sproutsocial.com


What accelerated Labubu's popularity were **unboxing videos** on social media and endorsements from celebrities. The excitement of opening blind boxes and the joyful reactions to finding rare figures were widely shared on TikTok and Xiaohongshu (RED), with posts expressing both joy and frustration becoming memes.


Social Media Reactions: Duality of Enthusiasm and Fatigue

Following the timeline, mixed sentiments about Labubu are evident.

  • "My salary disappears into Labubu blind boxes every month"

  • "It's cute, but at this point, it's a capitalist monster..."


Voices affirming the "precious consumption" of collecting favorite characters clash with those lamenting the soaring resale prices and endless desire to collect, making the boundary between "fan activities" and "consumerism" a renewed topic of debate.


Labubu has become more than just a "cute character,"symbolizing how Chinese culture is amplified through the global market and social media.Fortune


4. "6–7"—A "Brain-Bugging" Meme That's Strong Because It Means Nothing

An indispensable part of discussing 2025's internet slang is "6–7." This term, derived from a phrase in rapper Skrilla's song "Doot Doot (6 7)," spread explosively on TikTok and Instagram Reels, becoming the standard BGM for pro basketball highlights and everyday short clips.Wikipedia


What is distinctive is thatthere is almost no specific meaning. Whether it was a test score of 67, a height close to "6 feet 7 inches," or just a shout, 6–7 changes meaning depending on the context or serves as a "vibe" with no meaning at all.


Foreign media have described this phenomenon as a symbol of "brain rot" content, with older generations and educational institutions voicing opposition, saying "it's disruptive to classes." For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, however,the "shared vibe" itself, rather than meaning, creates a sense of solidarity, functioning as a new form of language play.Wikipedia


Social Media Reactions: Annoying Yet Imitated

In the comments section,

  • "It's so annoying, but I'm frustrated that it's become a habit"

  • "The whole class started saying 6–7, and the teacher lost it"


Posts like these show the visible clash of emotions between **"annoying but funny."**
6–7 might be the endpoint of 2025-style memes, where the enjoyment lies not in sharing meaning but in collectively enjoying the "lack of meaning."


5. Marketer Buzzwords: GEO and Substack Indicate the "Post-Search" Era

The dictionary includes words that dominated not just everyday conversations of general users but also those of marketers. The representatives are "GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)" and "Substack." According to Sprout Social, GEO recorded over 116 billion impressions as a keyword for optimizing AI-driven content discovery, while Substack recorded over 117 billion impressions.investors.sproutsocial.com


GEO is a concept that extends traditional SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to optimization forgenerative AI engines like ChatGPT. It involves tuning content structure, context, and authority to ensure information is organized in a way that makes it easily quotable by generative AI, securing visibility in the AI search era.Wikipedia


On the other hand, Substack is being reevaluated as a newsletter platform that serves as a "home" not dictated by algorithms. The strategy of leading creators found on social media to long-form platforms like Substack to nurture core communities—this "SNS → Owned Media" pathway design is now a common topic among marketers on X and LinkedIn.


Social Media Reactions: Buzzword Fatigue and the Unavoidable Reality

In the timelines of marketers,

  • "This year's buzzword: Another new ○○EO has emerged"

  • "GEO isn't just a buzzword; it's faster to see it as 'writing techniques assuming generative AI will read it'"

Reactions are mixed with cynicism and practical resignation.


Still, the reason GEO and Substack are discussed so much is that the shift to a world where "AI summaries and recommendations become the entry point for information, rather than search results" is becoming a reality for many marketers.


6. Keywords for 2026: AI Slop, Clanker, Group 7

The Social Media Dictionary not only looks back at 2025 but also presents words to watch for in 2026. Sprout Social highlights three main keywords.investors.sproutsocial.com


  • AI Slop
    A term mocking the low-quality, recycled-feeling AI-generated content flooding social media. Users increasingly post with a sigh, "Here comes more AI Slop..." in response to templated images and auto-generated articles containing misinformation.

  • Clanker
    A semi-derogatory term referring to accounts that mass-produce AI Slop or the people supporting that culture. Some even ironically call themselves "I'm a clanker," reflecting a mix of self-mockery and criticism of AI dependency.

  • Group 7
    A term symbolizing closed, niche online communities that only a select few can join. The feeling is growing that "true sentiments" gather not on open timelines but in small Discord servers or closed chat groups.


These words articulate the emotional tension between **"a world where AI mass-produces content" and "content created with human effort,"** as well as the dichotomy between "broad but shallow social media" and "narrow but deep communities."


7. Three Characteristics of 2025 Culture Seen from the Social Media Dictionary

Overlaying Sprout Social's Social Media Dictionary with the atmosphere on social media reveals at least three characteristics of internet culture in 2025.

  1. The speed of "buzz elevation" from niche to global is abnormally fast
    Aura, Labubu, and 6–7 all started within specific communities (sports fans, collectors, students, etc.). Boosted by algorithms and influencers, they elevated to global memes within months.##

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