Most of us say “hello” dozens of times a day—to friends, family, coworkers, or even strangers online. But have you ever said hello to your lamp? Or greeted your coffee mug like an old friend? What about offering a polite “good evening” to your closet door?
As ridiculous as it sounds, I found an app that does exactly that: it pays you to say “hello” to every object in your room. The concept is so absurd, so childlike, and yet so oddly profound that I couldn’t resist trying it. What started as a joke became one of the strangest, funniest, and surprisingly insightful experiences of my life.
The First Encounter With the “Hello” App
The discovery happened late one night while doomscrolling. I came across a forum thread with the headline:
“This app pays you to greet your stuff. Yes, really.”
Skeptical but curious, I downloaded it. The rules were simple:
- Open the app.
- Point your phone at an object.
- Say “Hello, [object]!”
- The app uses voice recognition + image detection to verify it.
- Earn coins or cash rewards for every successful greeting.
I laughed out loud. Imagine explaining to someone: “I can’t hang out right now, I have to say hello to my furniture.”
But curiosity won, and I decided to test it.
Day 1: Hello, Lamp
I started small. I pointed my phone at the lamp on my desk and said, “Hello, lamp.”
The app chimed: ✅ Verified! +5 coins.
That tiny “ding” of success triggered something in my brain. It was like a slot machine jackpot, but instead of gambling, I was being rewarded for basic politeness toward inanimate objects.
From there, I greeted everything in sight:
- “Hello, chair.”
- “Hello, bookshelf.”
- “Hello, pile of laundry I’ve been ignoring.”
By the time I was done, I had greeted half my room and collected about 50 coins, which converted to a few cents. Not much, but the novelty was priceless.
Why Would Anyone Build This App?
At first, I thought it was just a joke app, maybe some kind of parody. But after digging deeper, I realized it tapped into some real psychological and social concepts:
- Gamification of Habits – Apps reward tiny actions to hook users. Greeting objects turns politeness into a game.
- Mindfulness Training – Saying hello forces you to notice your environment. Instead of rushing past your clutter, you acknowledge it.
- Loneliness Solution – For people living alone, greeting objects can simulate social interaction.
- Viral Potential – It’s so weird that people will share it just to laugh.
In other words, the app wasn’t just silly—it was genius marketing wrapped in absurdity.
The Strange Power of Talking to Things
Here’s where it got interesting. After a few days of using the app, I realized I was actually starting to feel different. Saying hello to objects made me more aware of them.
- Greeting my water bottle reminded me to stay hydrated.
- Greeting my bed reminded me to make it in the morning.
- Greeting my mirror made me smile (and feel slightly insane).
It was as if my objects had personalities, and by acknowledging them, I was strengthening my relationship with my own space.
The Awkward Moment: My Friend Walked In
On Day 3, I made the mistake of using the app while a friend came over. She walked in just as I was saying: “Hello, trash can. How are you today?”
The look on her face was priceless.
I quickly explained, but she laughed so hard she nearly cried. “So you’re literally talking to garbage for money now?” she teased.
I wanted to be embarrassed, but instead, I leaned into the absurdity. “Hey, if my trash can pays better than my boss, I’ll respect it.”
The Deeper Side: Personification and Psychology
Psychologists have studied something called anthropomorphism—the tendency to give human qualities to non-human things. It’s why we name our cars, talk to our plants, or yell at our laptops when they freeze.
This app basically weaponizes anthropomorphism for fun (and profit). And honestly? It works. By greeting my stuff, I began treating it with more care. My desk was no longer “just a desk”—it was a companion that deserved respect.
The Rewards System
The app’s payouts were small but clever. Each object you greeted gave you coins, and daily streaks offered bonuses. Certain “special objects” (like mirrors, doors, or books) were worth more.
At the end of the week, I had accumulated enough to cash out $3. Not a fortune, but the fact that I earned money for saying hello to my pillow blew my mind.
The Funniest “Hello” Moments
Throughout my experiment, some greetings became hilarious highlights:
- Hello, toaster. (It popped at the same time. Scared me half to death.)
- Hello, socks. (I was holding two mismatched ones, and for a moment it felt like introducing awkward siblings.)
- Hello, Wi-Fi router. (I whispered it politely, hoping it would stop disconnecting. It didn’t.)
Each hello was both absurd and oddly satisfying.
The Social Experiment Angle
This app is more than just a gimmick—it’s a glimpse into how technology shapes behavior. Think about it:
- People jog for coins.
- People watch ads for tokens.
- People post memes for likes.
- Now, people greet objects for cash.
It raises questions: Are we really chasing money, or are we chasing the tiny dopamine rush that comes with rewards?
Lessons I Learned From Greeting My Room
By the end of my two-week experiment, I realized something bigger:
- Attention Matters – We ignore most of the objects in our lives, yet they shape our daily existence.
- Play Is Underrated – Talking to objects felt childish, but also joyful.
- Small Rewards Motivate Big Behavior – Even a few cents kept me coming back.
- We’re All a Little Silly – And that’s okay. Life doesn’t have to make sense to be fun.
Could This Actually Be Useful?
Surprisingly, yes. Imagine using this app for:
- Habit building: Say hello to your toothbrush → remember to brush.
- Decluttering: Greet items and decide if they “deserve” to stay.
- Mindfulness: Treat your home as something alive, not invisible.
The more I thought about it, the more it felt like a bizarre form of self-help disguised as comedy.
The Future of Weird Apps
We live in an age where attention is currency. Companies know that the stranger the idea, the more it spreads. From apps that reward you for sleeping to platforms that pay you for laughing, nothing surprises me anymore.
But this “Hello App” might be my favorite so far. It blends humor, psychology, and just enough cash to keep you hooked. And who knows? Maybe in the future, there will be apps rewarding us for saying goodbye, apologizing to our chairs, or complimenting our refrigerators.
Final Reflection
When I first downloaded the app, I thought it would be a silly five-minute experiment. Instead, it turned into two weeks of laughter, awkward moments, and surprising insights about my environment.
Did I get rich? No. But did I learn that saying hello to objects can make life feel lighter, funnier, and oddly more meaningful? Absolutely.
So the next time you walk past your lamp, maybe give it a little nod and say, “Hello.” Who knows? It might just pay off.
✅ Sources
- Epley, N., Waytz, A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2007). “On seeing human: A three-factor theory of anthropomorphism.” Psychological Review.
- Brown, S. (2009). Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. Avery.
- Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. Springer.
- Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Sarsa, H. (2014). “Does gamification work? – A literature review of empirical studies.” 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
- TED Talk – Tim Brown: Tales of Creativity and Play (2008).
Written by the author, Fatima Al-Hajri 👩🏻💻
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