My, a 22‑year‑old office clerk, spent more than VND5 million on lighting, a microphone and sample cosmetics to launch a week‑long video campaign, only to watch her affiliate dashboard flash a paltry VND18,225 (US$0.70) in estimated commissions.

Huong, a 28‑year‑old administrative assistant, followed a similar trajectory after joining “get‑rich” groups; she poured over VND8 million into a mini‑vacuum, food containers and smart appliances for review videos, yet after three months her commissions lingered below VND600,000, leaving her home littered with unsold samples.

The phenomenon is not anecdotal. ACCESSTRADE Vietnam projects the domestic affiliate market to swell to US$1 billion in 2026—a thirty‑fold leap from 2022—and estimates that roughly 30 % of sales on platforms such as Shopee originate directly from affiliate links.

Low entry barriers have saturated the field; a sizable cohort of registered publishers either go dormant or earn under VND1 million per month, while e‑commerce firms grapple with hidden cash‑flow hazards like order cancellations and delayed reconciliations.

Medical director Vuong Nguyen Toan Thien warns that the compulsive urge to refresh commission dashboards triggers a dopamine loop comparable to gambling, a pattern corroborated by psychologist Mike Brooks, who notes that intermittent reward schedules engender behavioral addiction.

International meta‑analyses of over 1.1 million youths link uncontrolled social‑media scrolling to sleep disturbances, heightened stress and depressive symptomatology; Thien emphasizes that the peril lies not in screen time per se but in the loss of self‑control that erodes circadian rhythms and interpersonal bonds.

Chronic insomnia, a frequent by‑product of overnight editing and perpetual “on‑standby” monitoring, provokes inflammatory responses and compromises immunity, creating a feedback loop wherein stress begets sleeplessness, which in turn deepens psychological fragility.

Thien prescribes a structured digital detox: confine dashboard checks to three or four intervals daily, impose a nightly digital curfew, and reserve at least one non‑monetised activity—such as walking or family meals—to recalibrate self‑worth.

Ultimately, the lesson is clear: safeguarding mental health demands a disciplined separation of personal value from fleeting commissions, coupled with proactive digital hygiene and, when necessary, professional intervention.