write / Hatem Mohamed
With ‘Aura Farming’ Exposing Teens to Global Audiences, Cybersecurity Experts Urge Families to Audit Digital Footprints and Guard Against Social Engineering.
Aura farming — the latest trend built around looking effortlessly cool, charismatic or “high-aura” on camera — has turned everyday gestures, dances and reactions into highly shareable content. For children and teenagers, however, a few seconds of unexpected virality can have consequences far beyond the original joke. Once a video starts circulating, strangers may begin searching for the person behind it, connecting usernames across platforms, digging through old posts and piecing together details such as a school, location, hobbies or their daily routines. Kaspersky experts explain how a harmless meme can therefore rapidly expand a child’s digital footprint.
In 2026, the phenomenon of “aura farming” moved beyond social media feeds into public spaces. The trend is built around moments when teenagers deliberately create an impression of effortless confidence: performing an impressive action, delivering a perfectly timed joke or becoming the center of attention — while maintaining a calm, almost emotionless expression as if nothing unusual happened. The contrast between the difficulty of the achievement and the person’s apparent indifference is what creates the “aura” that others recognize and share online. Teenagers in Latin America and Europe have begun holding “aura battles,” performing viral gestures, poses and memes in front of crowds who film the competition on their phones.
A child no longer needs to be an influencer to suddenly become highly visible on the internet. A funny dance at a school event, an unusual reaction at a football match or a few seconds captured by another person’s smartphone can travel far beyond the original audience. Once a clip starts circulating, the person in it may have very little control over where it goes next. That changes the privacy equation.
Check what information is already available online
If a video goes viral, viewers may try to find the person behind it. School names, precise locations, phone numbers, dates of birth and information about daily routines can reveal more than expected when combined together — such information can potentially be used for impersonation, social engineering or other forms of fraud. To prevent this, parents and children can regularly review their public profiles and remove unnecessary personal details.
A digital footprint is not limited to the content a child posts intentionally. Old social media profiles, unused accounts, comments, tagged photos and connected usernames across different platforms can all contribute to a person’s online presence. Before a child starts gaining more attention online — or immediately after a post begins spreading — families can use this moment as an opportunity for a privacy check: review account visibility, remove outdated information, check who can view posts and limit access to personal data.
To make this process easier, families can use resources such as Kaspersky Privacy Checker, which provides step-by-step guidance on adjusting privacy settings for popular online platforms and operating systems. The instructions on this web portal help users adjust their privacy settings and take greater control over their personal data. By regularly reviewing privacy settings, children can learn an important digital habit, that being online does not mean making every part of their life publicly available.
Help children recognize social engineering tactics
Sudden popularity can feel exciting, particularly for a teenager. Someone might offer a collaboration, ask for another video or claim to represent a popular creator or brand. A message does not become trustworthy simply because the sender knows which viral video a child appeared in. Public information can be used to create familiarity – for example, a scammer can reference a recent event, know the names of friends or mention a school or hobby to make an approach feel legitimate.
For a young person experiencing unexpected attention for the first time, distinguishing genuine opportunities from manipulation can be difficult. The lesson parents can teach is that the larger your audience becomes, the less you can assume that everybody approaching you has good intentions.
Kaspersky’s “Cyberhygiene” course helps develop practical digital safety skills and understand how to navigate the online environment more confidently. The course covers not only basic cybersecurity practices, such as protecting accounts and recognizing suspicious activity, but also broader aspects of digital behavior — including privacy, responsible sharing and understanding how online actions can affect personal safety and reputation.
For younger children, who are only starting to explore the digital world, building these habits can begin with Kaspersky’s Cybersecurity Alphabet. This educational resource introduces basic cybersecurity concepts in a simple and engaging way, helping children understand topics such as online privacy, safe communication and responsible digital behavior from an early age.
Make online safety a conversation, not a restriction
The first reaction does not need to be panic — and it probably should not be punishment either. A child who fears losing access to their phone or social networks may simply stop telling parents what is happening. Instead, unexpected virality can be treated as a reason for a quick privacy check.
It is worth checking whether the same username connects multiple accounts, strengthening account security with unique passwords and multi-factor authentication, and being especially cautious about unexpected direct messages, links, “prizes”, collaboration proposals or requests to continue a conversation on another platform. If fake accounts appear, families should document them and use the platform’s reporting mechanisms rather than entering into confrontation with the person behind them.
Education works best when combined with practical tools that support families in everyday digital life. Kaspersky Safe Kids helps parents create a safer online environment for children by providing tools such as content filtering, Safe Search, app usage controls, screen-time management and location tracking. These features allow parents to respond to potential risks, and encourage healthier digital habits through open conversations and agreed rules.
For broader family protection, Kaspersky Premium provides multilayered security for personal devices and data, including real-time protection against the evolving scam landscape across all devices and digital life aspects via our AIpowered scam protection.
Keep the conversation open. The goal is not to convince children that participation in internet culture is inherently dangerous. Memes, trends and shared jokes are part of how young people communicate with each other today.
“Aura farming will eventually be replaced by another meme, but the larger phenomenon is unlikely to disappear. Children increasingly live in a digital environment where visibility can be accidental, global and almost instantaneous. That means online safety education also needs to evolve. Teaching children to think before they post remains important, but it is no longer enough. They also need to know what to do when somebody else posts them, when strangers suddenly discover their profiles, when their image begins circulating outside its original context or when unexpected online attention turns into attempts to contact them,” comments Andrey Sidenko, Cyber Literacy Projects Lead at Kaspersky.
