Fake food delivery site for the dopamine (old.reddit.com)
109 points by guerrilla 11 days ago | 68 comments



layer8 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

> It's just to replicate the ritual of ordering food and give you the dopamine that the real process gives you.

I’m confused. How does the food-ordering process give you dopamine? It generally just gives me anxiety due to the uncertainties involved, until the food arrives in good condition, which here it won’t.

tom_ 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

The link is to the BingeEatingDisorder subreddit. From the link,

> I know that at least for me, the actual process of ordering food delivery is part of the addiction


I'm seeing a business opportunity for a gambling site where it is extremely cheap to play, but the payout is always 0 dollars.
teraflop 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Well the context is that it was posted to a subreddit for people who struggle with binge eating. So I guess you can think of it as the equivalent of sucking on a lollipop when you're craving a cigarette.
beaker52 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

There’s a thing with dopamine where it’s not actually about receiving the reward, it’s about doing the things that lead to the reward.

As weird as it sounds, going through the ordering process is all you need.


It's an absolutely a thing. My closet full of retro consoles, cyber decks, old monitors proves it. Anyone need an Apple Studio (2000's aluminum) for free? I can't stomach throwing it out or selling it for $20.
pengaru 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

think window shopping

which upon writing I realized may not even be something folks born after 2010 have even heard of...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_shopping

peterner 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Window shopping worked because walking away cost effort. Fake checkout has zero friction to close tab—does ritual still land without any stakes at all?

Do you get anxious when you order at a restaurant? There is the same exact uncertainty there compared to ordering ahead by 10 minutes while you are on the way there.
harvey9 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

There is a very different uncertainty with a far shorter loop to remedy any problems. I have never sat in a restaurant thinking that [any food delivery-specific failure mode] will arise.

Yeah, but restaurant food's usually there in 15 min max. Delivery apps stretch that uncertainty out to an hour, way more room for stuff to go sideways.
foobarian 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

It's too fast. There should be an artificial pause while adding to cart or capturing the payment
fourthark 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

IMO you should also wait half an hour for the food not to be delivered. Isn’t that the suspenseful part?
beaker52 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

This would actually add to the effect because the “hit” depends on the anticipation.

Where are the promo pop ups and the CTA asking me if I want to buy a giant cookie, cheese sticks, or a 2 liter at 200% markup?

NDlurker 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Practically no vegan options. Very realistic

Post the source instead of random reddit: https://foodnevercome.com/

I actually thought the Reddit context was quite helpful. I wouldn’t have guessed that this would be particularly meaningful for people with a binge eating disorder.
netsharc 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

God damn, the AI-generated pics.

Well, since it's a site for Artificial Food Ordering, why not use AI images.

I wonder how Baudrillard would think about all this.

ballenf 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

I need to enter a coupon code for more dopamine. And a loyalty program.
mmooss 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Seriously, the project's code name could be dopamine delivery. They could make it a demo of all the tricks.
eichin 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

and "cookie clicker" is already taken :-)

Free spins?

This is great. I need one for building permits.
mimischi 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Does this have the ridiculous dark patterns that Deliveroo in the UK has? “Pay a monthly fee for free deliveries!*

*We won’t tell you, but you might notice, we’ve now increased the service charge by almost the amount of what you saved on that free delivery.

realo 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Next step:

Fully customized sex worker service at your doorstep ... faked for the dopamine, of course.

amelius 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

This website works better than most sites I order from. Except for the delivery of course :)
beaker52 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

No delivery and I’m still waiting for my refund - on par with the industry benchmark!
firefoxd 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

The hardest part of food delivery is the tip section. It's where you use all your brain power to make a decision. That's the only part I would have given me dopamine hit from pretend tipping. Missed opportunity.

I was really hoping to add some fries, a drink and to customize my burger. Not that I customize my burger except maybe take off the pickles or remove the ice from my drink, but it adds to the dopamine factor.
beaker52 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

This is a key part of it - all the decision making, just like choosing the food, but making it yours.
long_heap 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Ran fake delivery site myself for two weeks. Gotcha: skip cart abandonment reminders, they turn dopamine hit into guilt spiral fast.
alemilos 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

This actually made me hungry.
airstrike 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

OK, this actually worked as advertised. I feel dopamined.

I just wished the delivery took longer and there was a payment process that longer than an instant. Could have a saved card on file that you could use.


I like to tip my delivery person so they do not spit in my food.
bnfcl 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Humans, huh
t0mpr1c3 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

The curse of technology. If people still had to hunt their protein and grind corn by hand, we wouldn't need anti-binge-eating apps.

I just had double jaw surgery so I'm "eating" though a straw (or syringe).

At least I can order regular food with this.

pxx 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Doesn't quite meet the fantasy threshold. I can't seem to filter by allergens or dietary restrictions.

Isn't it just like porn and video games work too. Weird no one thought of it before.
tejohnso 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Counterproductive for me. Seeing all that tasty looking food makes me want to binge.

I almost ordered, but the delivery fee is way too high.

wait what? shouldn't it make you more hungry/angry? when the food doesn't come...

What??
morkalork 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Looks like a riff of the fake online shopping site. Kinda funny that the premise could be legit: All the novelty seeking and exploration behaviour and none of financial burden (or in this case, calories)
wayneberg 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

Ran restaurant delivery ourselves, drivers cost more than food margin most nights. This app skips drivers, kitchens, everything, just serves dopamine straight up. Cheaper unit economics honestly.
fkirk 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

"Fake" bit misleading — real order confirmations get sent, just no food shows. Basically expensive prank calls to restaurants, unless I'm misreading the source.
j45 11 days ago | flag as AI [–]

There is nothing wrong with being a vegan, but the default assumption that Veganism is great for all, especially in countries where allergies are rampant isn't always feasible.

The drive by downvoting to suppress a broader perspective and impact of veganism is for everyone is one thing.