South Korea's Dopamine Sites Simulate $0 Shopping and Delivery for Young Users
Updated
Updated · Mashable · Jun 23
South Korea's Dopamine Sites Simulate $0 Shopping and Delivery for Young Users
3 articles · Updated · Mashable · Jun 23
Summary
South Korean “dopamine sites” are gaining traction by letting users browse menus or products, fill carts, enter addresses and place orders that cost $0 and never arrive.
FoodNeverComes, one of the best-known examples, was built by developer Malhee after he kept opening and closing delivery apps late at night without actually wanting to buy food.
Psychologist Gabrielle Schreyer-Hoffman said the sites mimic the dopamine hit of shopping or ordering food without the purchase, but still keep users engaged in the same underlying behavior.
The trend has split online reaction, with some users treating it as a tool against impulse spending and others seeing it as a bleak sign of consumer habits shaped by stress and digital escapism.
In highly connected South Korea, where delivery super-apps, esports and AI companions have flourished, the fake-ordering trend is emerging as another digitally mediated coping mechanism.