By Alexa Camingao
“Deserve ko ni.”
I’ve said that to myself more times than I can count. I usually do it late at night, checking out something I didn’t really need. At that moment, it does not seem to be a big deal for me. It is simply a reward or a treat for myself.
But in the middle of saying those words, it has become more than just comfort. It became a habit.
Online shopping is presented as an effortless and relatable experience for most of us. Clicking items to “Add to cart,” impulsive purchases and jokes about being broke make overspending feel normal. There is always a reason to buy something; maybe you’re stressed, you worked hard, or you’re healing–you deserve it.
However, buying stopped being a reward and started becoming a response instead.
I remember one time I checked out multiple items in one evening. Nothing really expensive, just small things I convinced myself I needed because I was feeling so stressed. When they arrived, the excitement was there, but it faded quickly. What stayed longer was the quiet thought: Did I really need any of these things? That moment did not feel like a reward anymore; it only felt like something I had to justify.
I felt that brief excitement, then a quiet guilt came rushing in afterwards. The realization that the satisfaction doesn’t last as long as I thought it would. And still, it’s so easy to fall into the same cycle when everyone else around you seems to be doing it too.
In fact, studies show that this behavior is not as random as it feels. Research done on online shopping platforms in Toledo, Cebu found that impulsive buying is not occasional. It is frequent across platforms people use daily, like TikTok Shop to Shopee and Lazada (Cabansag et al., 2025). Another study on social media consumption also reveals that content like “budol finds” and shopping videos directly influence how young people decide to buy, even when they think they are just casually scrolling.
That’s what makes it so dangerous. Not the spending, but how easily impulsivity is normalized today. “Wala na sad koy kwarta” becomes a joke instead of a warning. Discipline feels like deprivation now.
What this phenomenon shows us is the aftermath. The things we buy online or in the physical stores, don’t feel as special anymore. The money disappears faster than we earned it. The silence that follows after the hype is gone.
The Budol culture only reflects our desire to feel good in a world that often feels exhausting. But what we call a reward is often just a response. An automatic reaction to stress, boredom, or emotional fatigue. And eventually, it becomes a problem when spending replaces real coping and when “deserve ko ni” is no longer questioned.
Because not everything we “dasurb” should cost us our stability.
Sometimes, what we actually deserve cannot be added to cart.
