Call me Dreamer: The Addiction of Reward

Can anyone relate?

Like many people, I really love boba (bubble tea). I am fortunate to live in Houston and especially a part of Houston where you could drive 10 minutes (sometimes less) and find a boba place in any direction. My mom knows very well I like boba and it hasn't stopped in college. I could count in one hand the number of times I've gotten Starbucks at college, but let's just say that would be not possible for the boba count. However, the boba scene is sort of lacking here. There's one shop and compared to Houston it's definitely expensive (and not as great) so I decided I should get the app so my boba purchases are more meaningful and won't be in vain. Collecting bubbles definitely gives me some seventh kind of happiness and with certain amounts of bubbles, you get free drinks and you get upgraded like a game to a different level of boba drinking. Best part, birthday boba <3

Peaceful Cuisine-How to make Bubble Tea

Anyways, let me stop gushing about boba for a moment and come to the point. Believe it or not, I actually did not get a single boba in June which is impressive for me considering the second semester, I'd say I was getting boba on average once a week give or take a few weeks. As I mentioned before, it wasn't because the boba was amazing-after trying out the menu, I pretty much stuck to one thing-but more because of earning bubbles. That really got me to thinking about the addiction of reward systems. Initially, one gets an app for boba or Starbucks or etc because if you go to a place often enough, then its better to have the app due to monetary saving which is a valid logical goal.

However, there's a catch. Sometime in May, I got Potbelly (choose 2) and on the bottom of my receipt, it said you get 50% off if you come within the next couple of days or so and I was so happy. I could get the same amount of food I just got for less money. I was talking to a close friend about it and he started laughing when I told him how happy I was and I was confused so I told him, "It's a great deal isn't it?" and he continued laughing. Finally, he said, "That's how they get you! You're going to keep eating Potbelly?"

Ahhh...I finally understood my naivety.

Meet the Inventor of Boba in Taiwan-Asian Boss (interview starts around 1:45)

With a reward system whether it's collecting bubbles or a discount on your next purchase, if you give in to it, then in actuality you end up spending more money rather than if you didn't have the reward system (in my case, the app). You'd feel less inclined to go buy it because there's nothing in it for you except a refreshing drink that you can finish in 5 minutes. Therefore, you would not want to spend the money on it. I actually haven't deleted the app yet, but I started crossing earlier and walking on the other side of the road so I wouldn't be tempted at all.

Do you remember how I said my mom was well aware of how much I loved boba? Earlier this month, in an effort to dissuade me, she sent me 2 articles. Actually, the news was the same. I asked her why she sent me the same story twice from different sources and she said so I'd know its true. I've shared the articles below as well as another article from an incident in 2015 which also dealt with hard to digest boba. Read at your own risk ;)

Articles:

Sorry Mom, I'm still going to drink Boba as soon as I get back to Houston <3

And of course, here's my Summer Vibes playlist-Happy July 4th everyone! Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! Please let me know what your favorite boba flavor is+shop as well as what other summer drinks you enjoy :)

P.S. The addiction of reward interests me so I'll probably write more about it later especially since I want to explore the intersection of the psychological and scientific factors regarding the reward pathway in the brain which leads to substance abuse and addiction

Summer Vibes Playlist:

1) Peace of Mind-Avicii ft. Vargas and Lagola (Check out the full Posthumous Album-Tim!)

2) Uchiage Hanabi-Kenshi YonezuxDaoko (In honor of July 4th, had to put a song about fireworks, but honestly I love Kenshi Yonezu <3 DON'T FORGET TO TURN ON CAPTIONS)