Young Koreans use digital placebos to curb spending

Office worker Lee Joo-hyun, 25, opens a mobile app when hunger strikes, even though she is trying to lose weight. Lee browses the menu, selects food and hits the order button. A notification pops up notifying her that the food is being prepared, followed by a real-time map tracking a delivery driver picking up the meal and moving toward her home.

The food, however, never arrives. Lee is not charged, either. The platform Lee used is not a standard delivery service but "FoodNeverArrives" — an application designed to simulate the ordering process. Instead of a meal, Lee receives a virtual receipt tallying the money and calories saved.

"Looking at the numbers written on the receipt makes me proud. I'm happy even without eating the food," she said.

As inflation remains high, digital placebos that curb impulse spending through virtual consumption are gaining popularity among budget-conscious consumers. The simulations provide a sense of satisfaction and amusement without costing money or raising health concerns. For people in their 20s and 30s who self-deprecatingly joke that "only breathing is free," the trend serves as both a novel coping strategy and a self-management tool.

FoodNeverArrives has surpassed 10,000 downloads since it launched on the Google Play Store in July. Users praise the app for curbing appetites and preventing unnecessary spending.

"After eating delivery, I often regretted spending the money on the food and delivery fee," Park Hyun-ji, 24, said. "Because I can manage the urge to order without spending money, I plan to use it from time to time."

Park Seo-hyun, the 22-year-old developer of the app, got the idea from her own habit of browsing delivery menus, only to lose her appetite once the food actually arrived.

"I wondered whether what I really wanted was the food or the anticipation of the ordering process," Park said. "I made the app because I thought that experiencing only the ordering process might allow the impulse to pass."

The trend has also expanded to weight loss with "Maeumjaro," an app simulating a weight-loss injection. The app allows users to select a dosage and hold their smartphone against their abdomen like a syringe. As the on-screen fluid slowly diminishes to mimic a shot and the app displays a slogan claiming the diet effect depends on the user's willpower. It also displays the cost of the "injection" — 0 won.

A 37-year-old surnamed Jeon, who hesitated to take weight-loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy due to allergy concerns and cost, began pressing an ordinary pen against his thigh to mimic an injection.

"I wondered whether repeatedly poking myself with a pen might reduce my appetite, like Pavlov's dogs or the placebo effect," Jeon said. "Whenever I felt hungry, I tried it, and I actually felt less hungry. I think 'Maeumjaro' may have a similar effect.'"

Office worker Park Ji-hyun, 25, logs onto "Online Damta," a virtual take on the Korean workplace cigarette break, when she feels stressed.

"I have no intention of smoking at all, but watching the cigarette ember burn down on the screen makes me feel as though I have found an escape from daily life," she said.

A 21-year-old university student surnamed Kim expressed similar satisfaction with the simulation.

"When I take a fake cigarette break while reading anonymous complaints about work posted by other users, it feels entertaining, as though I were actually chatting casually with friends," Kim said.

Experts view these simulated experiences favorably as tools that may support self-control and help users achieve personal goals. Koo Jeong-woo, a sociology professor at Sungkyunkwan University, noted a clear distinction from traditional placebos.

"Unlike a conventional placebo, in which people believe a fake treatment is real, the defining feature is that users employ the apps and websites as self-management tools even though they know they are fake," Koo said. "It is a new cultural phenomenon combining individuals' desire to reclaim agency with social pressure."

For young people with limited financial means, such virtual experiences can also serve as an extreme form of cost-cutting.

Lee Eun-hee, professor emeritus of consumer science at Inha University, said, "People know they need to rein in their spending and consumption, but resisting the urge is not easy. These experiences simulate the feeling of actually ordering food for delivery or receiving a weight-loss injection, serving as a mechanism that encourages people to save money."

Experts, however, caution against relying too heavily on simulated experiences or overestimating their effectiveness.

Kang Jae-heon, a professor of family medicine at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, said, "They may help somewhat in reducing urges to smoke or overeat, but because they provide less physical and psychological satisfaction than actually engaging in those behaviors, they are unlikely to have a significant long-term effect."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.