SerpApi.Org
I'm a native New Yorker who recently got to witness the iconic blue and orange of the Knicks flooding the city's streets. It was hard to miss! But while many saw it as an expression of fan enthusiasm, some Gen Zers saw it as something else: a perfect example of "larping."
Once used as an acronym meaning "live action role playing" and referring to immersive, character-based games, the term has been repurposed by Gen Z into slang used to describe peers who put on a fake persona for the public, particularly online. Such as when teens claimed to be die-hard fans and didn't even know that Knick was short for Knickerbocker and were called - or even jokingly called themselves - larps.
"It's kind of like putting on this persona, oftentimes through social media," Clive, 17, a member of the SheKnows Teen Council, explains. "So, you might take photos of yourself doing something, and kind of supporting this fantastical persona that you can upkeep through social media… For instance, you want to be, like, old money, and you're taking photos of [yourself] on yachts and boats and in the Hamptons, even though you aren't actually part of that."
Larping is big on social media, because there, "it's really easy to fake something," he says. "But you could also larp in person, like dress in certain ways, speak in certain ways and kind of act as if you are a certain kind of person."
Other teens we talked to say the term refers to people "jumping on the bandwagon for the sake of aura," or "pretending you're into something everyone else is so you can be a part of it."
Because in the hopes of gaining "aura," or praise from their peers, teens are staying up to date on the trends and curating their personality, grid, and style accordingly.
While some use the term to gently mock themselves or their friends, many teens want to avoid the label at all costs, not wanting to be called out for being performative or inauthentic - even if we all do it from time to time.
Because in true Gen Z fashion, teens are usually the first to jump aboard any new trend - even if the enthusiasm isn't all that sincere. Even now, as the World Cup reaches the finals, soccer has suddenly become like football, with colorful jerseys popping up on larping teens hoping to gain aura everywhere.
