{"id":325094,"date":"2025-12-02T01:08:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T01:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/325094\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T01:08:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T01:08:19","slug":"3-negative-mental-health-effects-of-online-shopping-according-to-psychologists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/325094\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Negative Mental Health Effects of Online Shopping, According to Psychologists"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many of us, browsing through our favorite online stores isn\u2019t just about shopping\u2014it\u2019s a mindless, relaxing act of self-care<\/a>. (We call it retail therapy<\/a> for a reason.)<\/p>\n

When you shop, your brain\u2019s reward center is activated, which triggers the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine, Kate Cummins, PsyD<\/a>, a licensed clinical psychologist and speaker in the Bay Area, tells SELF. That explains how jumping from page to page can be strangely exciting. So why, then, does it sometimes leave you with an icky mix of guilt, regret, and hollow emptiness instead? We asked psychologists to break down the most common reasons your online shopping habit is leaving you drained (and not just financially)\u2014plus, how to browse in a way that\u2019s actually enjoyable.<\/p>\n

1. The paradox of choice is overwhelming.<\/p>\n

On the web, there are near infinite brands, retailers, and products to comb through. Not only are you drowning in pages of items, but you\u2019re also inundated with tons of information\u2014sales and promotions, customer reviews, details on materials, size charts, etc. All this, yet you still can\u2019t see, feel, or try anything on.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch<\/a> shows that we have a paradox of choice,\u201d Diedre Popovich, PhD<\/a>, an associate professor of marketing in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University, tells SELF. \u201cConsumers love to have a lot of different options available to us, but when we have too many, we actually end up in decision paralysis<\/a>\u201d\u2014or the inability to pick due to overwhelming choices.<\/p>\n

On top of that, many brands aren\u2019t just selling products\u2014they\u2019re selling you a whole new lifestyle. It\u2019s about \u201cthe idea that if you have this product, your life will be infinitely better,\u201d Dr. Popovich says. Will a $15 organizer from Amazon finally make you a neat freak? Can those trendy jeans help you love your body, once and for all? It\u2019s not that simple\u2014and more often than not, you\u2019ll end up with more stress, anxiety, and indecisiveness than you had when you started.<\/p>\n

2. It can be a total time-suck.<\/p>\n

In theory, buying stuff online should be more efficient: There\u2019s no need to leave the house, try things on, or go from store to store searching for what you want. But even digital window shopping can quickly turn into a bigger time investment than you imagined.<\/p>\n

This could be attributed to \u201cflow,\u201d the psychological state<\/a> often described as being \u201cin the zone,\u201d according to Dr. Popovich. Time seems to fly by when you\u2019re immersed in a task at hand, whether you\u2019re playing video games or browsing mindlessly online. When you\u2019re in flow, before you know it, a good chunk of your day is gone\u2014which is great when you\u2019re doing something that\u2019s been long on your to-do list or finishing up a work project, but can be all the more frustrating if, after all that scrolling, you have no purchases to show for the hours spent.<\/p>\n

3. There\u2019s mounting pressure to be a \u201cresponsible\u201d consumer.<\/p>\n

The cultural context around shopping is changing, which can make the experience even more stressful. Sustainability, in particular, is becoming increasingly important to customers as we learn more about the massive waste<\/a> associated with high-buy lifestyles; it\u2019s spurred social media trends like \u201cunderconsumption core<\/a>\u201d and the rise of ThriftTok<\/a>.<\/p>\n