Young Koreans use digital placebos to curb spending

Young Koreans are using digital placebo apps and websites to curb spending and manage cravings. FoodNeverArrives simulates food delivery, while Maeumjaro imitates a weight-loss injection and Online Damta recreates a cigarette break. Experts say the fake experiences can support self-control, but they may not have strong long-term effects.

FoodNeverArrives has surpassed 10,000 downloads since launching on Google Play in July.

Maeumjaro lets users choose a dosage and hold their smartphone against their abdomen while showing the cost of the fake injection as 0 won.

Koo Jeong-woo of Sungkyunkwan University said the apps are different from conventional placebos because users know they are fake and use them as self-management tools.

Lee Eun-hee of Inha University said the simulations can encourage people to save money by recreating the feeling of ordering food or receiving a weight-loss injection.

Kang Jae-heon of Kangbuk Samsung Hospital said the apps may help reduce urges to smoke or overeat, but are unlikely to have a significant long-term effect.

Published Sep 30, 2026 12:06 am KST

Consumers in their 20s and 30s turn to simulated orders, shots and smoking to fight inflation

An image generated by ChatGPT

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.

Screenshots from the simulated delivery app "FoodNeverArrives" display menu items, left, and an order form. The service simulates the delivery process without charging users or dispatching food. Captured from FoodNeverArrives app

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.'"

The mobile interface of "Maeumjaro," a virtual injection on healthcare platform Doctor Now, simulates administering an anti-obesity drug. No actual medication is delivered. Captured from Doctor Now app

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.

An on-screen cigarette burns down on the website "Online Damta," where users exchange anonymous messages to replicate the atmosphere of a workplace smoke break without lighting up. Captured from Online Damta website

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.

韩国年轻人正在使用数字安慰剂应用程序和网站来控制消费和抑制食欲。例如，FoodNeverArrives 模拟送餐服务，Maeumjaro 模拟减肥针，Online Damta 则模拟吸烟休息。专家表示，这些虚拟体验有助于增强自控力，但可能没有显著的长期效果。

自 7 月在 Google Play 上线以来，FoodNeverArrives 的下载量已超过 10,000 次。

Maeumjaro 允许用户选择剂量，并将智能手机贴在腹部，同时显示假注射的价格为 0 韩元。

成均馆大学的具正宇表示，这些应用程序与传统的安慰剂不同，因为用户知道它们是假的，并将其用作自我管理工具。

仁荷大学的李恩熙表示，这些模拟可以通过重现点餐或接受减肥针的感觉来鼓励人们省钱。

江北三星医院的姜在宪表示，这些应用程序可能有助于减少吸烟或暴饮暴食的冲动，但不太可能产生显著的长期效果。

发布于2026年9月30日凌晨12:06（韩国标准时间）

二三十岁的消费者通过模拟点餐、喝酒和吸烟来对抗通货膨胀。

由 ChatGPT 生成的图像

25岁的上班族李珠贤（音译）虽然正在减肥，但饿的时候还是会打开手机应用点餐。她浏览菜单，选择食物，然后点击下单按钮。应用会弹出通知，告知她食物正在准备中，随后会显示实时地图，追踪送餐员取餐并向她家送餐的路线。

然而，食物却始终没有送到。李也没有被收费。李使用的平台并非标准的送餐服务，而是名为“FoodNeverArrives”的应用程序——该程序旨在模拟订餐流程。李收到的不是餐食，而是一张虚拟收据，上面列出了节省的金额和卡路里。

“看着收据上的数字，我感到很自豪。即使不吃东西，我也很高兴，”她说。

由于通货膨胀居高不下，通过虚拟消费抑制冲动消费的数字安慰剂在精打细算的消费者中越来越受欢迎。这些模拟消费方式既能带来满足感和娱乐感，又无需花费金钱，也不会引发健康问题。对于那些自嘲“只有呼吸是免费的”的二三十岁年轻人来说，这种趋势既是一种新颖的应对策略，也是一种自我管理工具。

模拟外卖应用“FoodNeverArrives”的屏幕截图显示了菜单项（左侧）和订单表格。该服务模拟外卖配送流程，但不向用户收费或实际配送食物。截图来自 FoodNeverArrives 应用

自7月份在Google Play商店上线以来，FoodNeverArrives的下载量已突破1万次。用户称赞该应用能够抑制食欲，防止不必要的开支。

“吃完外卖后，我经常后悔花了钱买食物和支付配送费，”24岁的朴贤智说。“因为我可以控制住点外卖的欲望而不花钱，所以我打算偶尔使用一下。”

该应用程序的开发者朴瑞贤（音译）今年22岁，她的灵感来源于自己经常浏览外卖菜单，但食物真正送到后却没了胃口的习惯。

“我一直在想，我真正想要的究竟是食物本身，还是点餐过程中的那种期待感，”朴说。“我开发这款应用，是因为我觉得如果只体验点餐过程，或许就能消除这种冲动。”

这股风潮也蔓延到了减肥领域，一款名为“Maeumjaro”的应用程序模拟了减肥针剂注射。用户只需选择剂量，然后将智能手机贴在腹部，就像使用注射器一样。屏幕上的液体会缓慢减少，模拟注射效果，同时应用程序会显示一条标语，声称减肥效果取决于用户的意志力。此外，它还会显示“注射”的费用——0韩元。

一名 37 岁的全姓男子，由于担心过敏和费用问题，一直犹豫是否要服用像 Mounjaro 和 Wegovy 这样的减肥药，于是开始用一支普通的笔按压自己的大腿，模拟注射。

全先生说：“我当时就在想，反复用笔戳自己会不会像巴甫洛夫的狗那样，或者像安慰剂效应那样，降低我的食欲。每当我感到饥饿时，我都会尝试一下，结果真的感觉没那么饿了。我想‘Maeumjaro’可能也有类似的效果。”

“Maeumjaro”是医疗平台Doctor Now上的虚拟注射服务，其移动界面模拟注射抗肥胖药物的过程。实际上，不会注射任何药物。图片来自Doctor Now应用程序。

25 岁的上班族朴智贤 (Park Ji-hyun) 在感到压力时会登录“Online Damta”，这是一个模拟韩国职场吸烟休息的虚拟平台。

“我根本没有吸烟的打算，但是看着屏幕上香烟的余烬燃尽，让我觉得我找到了逃离日常生活的方式，”她说。

一名21岁的金姓大学生对模拟体验表达了类似的满意之情。

“当我假装抽烟休息，同时阅读其他用户匿名发布的关于工作的抱怨时，感觉很有趣，就像我真的在和朋友们随意聊天一样，”金说。

在名为“Online Damta”的网站上，屏幕上的香烟正在燃烧殆尽。用户在该网站上匿名交流信息，旨在模拟工作场所的吸烟休息氛围，而无需真的点燃香烟。图片截取自“Online Damta”网站。

专家们对这些模拟体验持积极态度，认为它们可以作为辅助自控和帮助用户实现个人目标的工具。成均馆大学社会学教授具正宇指出，这与传统的安慰剂疗法有明显的区别。

Koo表示：“与传统的安慰剂效应不同，传统安慰剂效应是指人们相信虚假的治疗是真实的，而这种现象的显著特点是，用户即使知道这些应用程序和网站是假的，仍然将其作为自我管理工具来使用。这是一种新的文化现象，它结合了个人重获自主权的愿望和社会压力。”

对于经济条件有限的年轻人来说，这种虚拟体验也可以作为一种极端的节约成本的方式。

仁荷大学消费者科学荣誉教授李恩熙表示：“人们知道自己需要控制支出和消费，但抵制诱惑并不容易。这些体验模拟了实际点外卖或接受减肥针的感觉，从而起到鼓励人们存钱的作用。”

然而，专家们告诫人们不要过分依赖模拟体验或高估其有效性。

江北三星医院家庭医学教授姜在宪表示：“它们或许能在一定程度上减少吸烟或暴饮暴食的冲动，但由于它们提供的生理和心理满足感不如实际进行这些行为，因此不太可能产生显著的长期效果。”

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。