Is online shopping more addictive?

The year 2020 and its restrictions have prompted many French people to shop online. Thinking about saving money, some people finally cut the budget a lot more than they thought. What if it is a sign of an addiction?

Electronic purchase addiction increases risk

The dematerialization of purchases is nothing new. With the advent of the blue card, there is already the phenomenon of relying on some people who do not anticipate that an item can be purchased in the same way without the exchange of notes and currency.

Buying online increases the risk for some by not only exchanging money, but also dematerializing the physical gesture and the process of going straight to the store. Made to simplify life, on the contrary, it encourages the purchase of motivation and distances the buyer from his true motivation.

Pay attention to your emotions when you make a purchase

Who has never filled their virtual basket and spent more than their initial planning budget? Online stores are designed to display items that attract visitors by opening 24 hours a day and creating a sense of urgency.

This type of stimulus purchase, made at the expense of emotion, triggers a spike in dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for addiction in the brain (among other things). In the context of critical health losing social ties and already creating strong depression, this type of purchase will replace the admiration for some.

Therefore, be careful with the budget (and stick to it) before starting online purchases, otherwise it should not replace negative emotions by having fun and delay the purchase as much as possible to avoid motivation. .

Learn more: “Shopping fever. Compulsive Shopping Syndrome by Jean Addes and Michelle Lezoex ”, Publications Blocking Thought in Circles.