All this and more — or is it less? — is available on so-called dopamine sites, which offer nothing tangible and yet have somehow become wildly popular as people navigate a digital landscape that cultivates consumption.
Named for the brain chemical associated with reward seeking, the sites simulate experiences like online shopping that can generate good feelings. In doing so, proponents say, they may subvert the habits of people conditioned to buy and consume. And the prices can’t be beat, since they are the same as the product lines: nonexistent.
The trend in the spring and quickly spread , with helping prompt a proliferation of dopamine sites.
Whatever the motivation, psychology exerts say, the sites have gained broad appeal not just by tapping into a basic pleasure pathway of the brain but by speaking to growing anxieties among younger people about their digital world.
