For young, budget-conscious South Koreans, the excitement of online shopping no longer demands that they open their wallets. “Dopamine sites” — fake shopping and food delivery platforms — now recreate the ritual of buying something without any actual payment or delivery involved.  
  
Before trying faux food delivery app FoodNeverArrives, I assumed this latest internet craze was just a gimmick. But the experience felt unexpectedly convincing. Like a real delivery app, it lets users browse menus, read reviews, fill a cart, enter an address, place an order and even track a virtual courier. The catch is that nothing ever arrives and no money changes hands. Instead, the app tells users how many calories they’ve “saved” by not putting through a real order.  
  
Developer Park Seo-hyun, a 21-year-old university student, says the idea came to her after she found herself opening and closing food delivery apps late at night. Her addiction to ordering takeaway, she says, took her delivery bill over Won1mn (about $680) in a single month.  
  
“In many cases, all I really wanted was the feeling of placing an order,” she says. “Once I satisfied that urge, it didn’t matter if the food never actually arrived.” So long as you’re not too hungry, she is right. There is something oddly satisfying about browsing photos of fried chicken, pizza and sushi and placing an order without worrying about the bill.

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FT social media team

FT opinion: The thrill of South Korea’s ‘dopamine apps’