Is the virtual emotional product ＂nonsense＂？

Virtual emotional products are varied.

After searching for "Einstein’s brain" on a shopping website, the reporter saw that this kind of goods used Einstein’s head as a propaganda map, and the price ranged from 0.01 yuan to 1 yuan. In the product introduction, it is generally said that "this brain will automatically grow on your brain when you buy it" and "everything you buy is easy to use" … The reporter also saw that some sellers played with flowers and classified the products, such as smart brain, happy brain, liberal arts brain, science brain and exam brain. Among them, as long as the happy brain is 0.1 yuan, the test brain needs 1 yuan, and there are hints below the goods, which can be noted to a certain brain.

The reporter consulted the relevant customer service, and the other party said: "Take pictures of automatic delivery, virtual goods are delivered in seconds, and wait to be smart after placing an order. Generally, you can start to grow your brain after a sleep."

The reporter saw in the commodity evaluation that most of the comments were playing tricks: "Useful, I can guarantee that I can learn addition and subtraction within ten, and now I have the ability to take care of myself" "Useful, I have been admitted to Harvard University" "I got more than 10,000 points in the college entrance examination" and "I am studying controlled nuclear fusion now" …

Besides "Einstein’s brain", there are many other popular products, and "virtual mosquito" is one of them. After consumers buy a "virtual mosquito", they can ask the seller to add the QQ number or micro-signal specified by the consumer. Once the other party passes, the seller will always send the onomatopoeia of "buzzing" to the other party, even supporting videos and emoticons. The more money you spend, the longer it takes to "buzz".

The details of products such as "Wild Tyrannosaurus Rex, which has been vaccinated, will walk by itself according to the address after placing an order" and "Wild elephant, which will be spoiled, will walk by the address after being photographed" are similar: "This product is a virtual product, and it does not need to be delivered by logistics. It will be delivered automatically after being photographed. Please confirm the receipt directly …"

Why "Wulitou" products sell well?

The reporter saw on a shopping platform that the store with the highest sales volume of "Einstein’s Brain" has sold 40,000 orders.

Where there is demand, there will be a market, and the emergence of virtual emotional products is closely related to alleviating emotional needs. According to the 2022 Mile Mile Youth Mental Health Report, in 2022, the number of videos related to mental health in bilibili exceeded 7.6 billion times, and the number of psychological related words such as "anxiety", "depression" and "stress" reached 99.3 million times. The complicated and changeable life makes some people feel anxious, and there is a strong demand for products that can provide a relaxed and pleasant experience. Virtual emotional products can help young people reduce their emotional internal friction and become an outlet for some young people to reconcile with themselves.

Some netizens said that the name given by the seller to the goods is particularly interesting, and you can be happy for a short time just by looking at it, even if you look at the comments in the comment area. Another netizen left a message in the product evaluation: "I bought Einstein’s brain, thinking that I will have Einstein’s wisdom, and I will be able to enter the examination room with joy and confidence, and maybe I will be able to play beyond my normal level." I need encouragement, confidence and happiness. "

Wu Jing, a national second-level psychological counselor, believes that virtual emotional products such as "Einstein’s brain" have become explosions in online celebrity, which shows the importance of emotions in contemporary society and the high degree of attention of young people to emotions. Nowadays, young people are generally willing to pay for emotions. In the fast-paced life, this simple and low-cost emotional experience has become a way of relaxation and pleasure. Generally, psychological sustenance is most needed after "doing everything possible". For example, after the college entrance examination, someone will choose the good luck symbol to ease their mood when they are uneasy about the test results.

Liu Xin, a national second-level psychological counselor, believes that virtual emotional products provide a new way for young people to meet their emotional needs. Merchants just caught the demand of some consumer groups and met this demand at a lower price. These products are not expensive, and they are easy and interesting, which is easy to attract the attention of young people. Simple and low-cost emotional experience makes people relieve the pressure of life in jokes and complete self-identification in jokes, which has become a way of relaxation and pleasure.

How big is the emotional value?

Although virtual emotional products are cheap, they also cost consumers money. Are these products really worth the money? Is there a consumption trap?

The netizen who bought the "wild elephant" commented: "The elephant received it, it is very cute, and it will work by itself!" The netizen also said: "Everyone knows that elephants can’t buy them and won’t come to their homes. But after buying it, I have an inexplicable expectation, which makes people feel warm. "

However, some netizens told reporters: "I bought a’ good luck spray’, but the merchants didn’t even send some programmed blessings in the introduction. The contact merchants only had the preset answer given by the robot, which was very perfunctory. Although it is not expensive, it still feels fooled. "

Some netizens said: "Because I was in a bad mood and didn’t want to disturb my friends, I bought a’ talk tree hole’. After purchasing goods, you can talk to an unknown person on social software. As a result, the other party asked my contact information and asked to meet offline to listen to me. I feel that something is wrong and I will go offline. "

An online shop owner selling virtual emotional products told reporters that when buying virtual emotional products, consumers should choose reliable businesses and formal channels. At the same time, we should pay attention to the protection of personal information security to prevent information leakage, and do not easily transfer money or meet offline, so as not to cause economic losses or other injuries.

Psychologists say that it is indeed useful to buy virtual emotional products. For some people, using emotional products can relieve their emotional stress, improve their emotional stability and enhance their self-regulation ability. For example, for some people who are emotionally lonely and psychologically stressed, using virtual emotional products may get an emotional support and comfort to help them better cope with emotional problems.

Liu Xin said that it was not so much the virtual emotional products that saved the buyers as the buyers’ self-salvation. It is not the mystery of the virtual emotional product itself, but the process that emotions are projected onto a concrete object and reflected back to the ID. Therefore, don’t expect all kinds of virtual emotional products to be effective at once. What is really effective is the healing of consumers themselves.

Wu Jing reminded consumers that if their emotional problems are not serious, emotional services may help people get psychological comfort to a certain extent, but they should not rely too much on these emotional products. If you have serious psychological or emotional problems, you need to seek professional help in time.