Indians are discovering the thrill of shopping without paying
Dopamine sites mimic shopping’s thrill without the spending, turning the ritual of consumption into a digital game.
A novel Indian website, FoodNeverComes, enables users to order meals from a variety of cuisines without ever receiving the food. Developed by two young software engineers, the site boasts over 2.7 million visitors and offers 22 different cuisines, 327 dishes, and 319 fake recipes featuring fabricated prices and a simulated checkout process.
The founders cite their own shopping habits as the inspiration for the concept, noting the tendency of people to add items to their online baskets without completing the purchase. They believe the ritual of ordering may provide a dopamine boost, even if the actual food is not consumed. This phenomenon, known as dopamine sites, has been gaining popularity in South Korea and has now spread to India.
Anticipatory utility, or the pleasure derived from the anticipation of a reward, plays a significant role in these sites' appeal. Dopamine, often referred to as the brain's pleasure chemical, is actually responsible for signaling the desire to seek out more of a particular stimulus. While the sites may provide a temporary fix for cravings or a sense of accomplishment, experts caution that they could potentially reinforce addictive behaviors over time.
Written by urgent.news from BBC News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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