If you've spent even five minutes on social media lately, you've probably come across the term "delulu." It might have popped up on a meme, or someone emphatically declared, “Delulu is the solulu.”
Before "delulu" lived its best life, becoming everybody's roast slang against their friends and themselves, it was circa 2014 when "delulu" was amid the K-pop fandom. Fans, having lots of free time on their hands, would build elaborated theories about their idols, for instance, "So and so idol is secretly in love with the other bandmates," even to the level of "If I stare straight into Jungkook's eyes at a concert, he'll fall in love with me."
K-pop stans named "delulu" as a lighthearted way of calling out these overly ambitious fantasies. Fast forward to 2022, and TikTok took "delulu" by the hand, said "Let's make it go viral," and never looked back.
Today, the hashtag #delulu has billions of views. Be it a person faking that they are in a relationship with Harry Styles simply because he waved at them from the stage or manifesting billionaire status as they scroll Zillow listings of $10 million mansions, everybody's a delulu.
What does "Delulu" actually mean?
Essentially, "delulu" is a contracted or shortened form of "delusional," but we, in some way, managed to add extra zing to it as true members of Gen Z would.
Let's get real here: You know that friend, huh, who says, "I'm manifesting my soulmate," but their only interaction with said soulmate was them liking their Instagram story? Yeah, that's delulu energy.
But sometimes, that is not quite so bad. Sometimes, a little bit of delulu can be your key to unlocking your inner baddie. After all, as they say:
"Delulu is the solulu."
If you believe in yourself, even if it's borderline delusional, you might just trick the universe into making it happen.
Delulu in pop culture
But perhaps most iconically, we have the rise of "delulu is the solulu." It's a cheeky little catchphrase that turns the entire argument on its head: instead of it being a bad thing to be a little bit delusional, it becomes aspirational.
So, is it a bad thing to be delulu, really? Not really; as a fact, some of the biggest successes in the world started with a little bit of delusion.
The key is in the balance: a dash of delulu works to give you confidence, to keep life fun, but full on delulu? That might be where you need to check yourself before you wreck yourself.
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Whether you're a K-pop stan plotting your imaginary wedding to your bias or just someone hyping themselves up for a job interview they're totally unqualified for, delulu is here to stay. It's camp, cringe, and a full-on mindset.
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