02 Feb 2025
There’s a war on ‘friction,’ and it’s gotten out of hand.
I see this rhetoric everywhere [on social media, in design conversations] framed as if it’s some universal evil. It’s been lumped together with "user-centred design," another term that’s been stretched, warped, and beaten to a pulp.
But I'm getting distracted…
I see this rhetoric everywhere [on social media, in design conversations] framed as if it’s some universal evil. It’s been lumped together with "user-centred design," another term that’s been stretched, warped, and beaten to a pulp.
But I'm getting distracted…
The problem with "Friction-Free".
The term "friction" has been stripped of its depth. When designing products and services, we shouldn’t obsessively remove every obstacle; we should eliminate pointless speed bumps while engineering the right kind of resistance.
Friction isn’t the enemy; it never was. What’s missing isn’t convenience but context. Context is the bridge that connects value with benefit and effort with reward.
Friction isn’t the enemy; it never was. What’s missing isn’t convenience but context. Context is the bridge that connects value with benefit and effort with reward.
The experience overload.
We’re overwhelmed by the sheer number of so-called "experiences."
Everything, from ordering food to listening to music to finding our soulmates, is framed as an “experience,” which dilutes the term’s meaning.
It’s all an “experience” now. I could go on a whole rant about that, but I’ll save it for another post.
Let’s focus on the real issue. In a saturated market where experiences overlap, a customer’s decision isn’t just about how good something is—it’s about how it compares to everything else, competing for their time, attention, and, of course, the reward.
At any given moment, the choice isn’t just between one app or another. It’s between watching Netflix, going to the gym, scrolling social media, meditating, or finally tackling that project you promised yourself six months ago. It’s about how soon we get the reward and how long we can hold on to the drip.
Everything, from ordering food to listening to music to finding our soulmates, is framed as an “experience,” which dilutes the term’s meaning.
It’s all an “experience” now. I could go on a whole rant about that, but I’ll save it for another post.
Let’s focus on the real issue. In a saturated market where experiences overlap, a customer’s decision isn’t just about how good something is—it’s about how it compares to everything else, competing for their time, attention, and, of course, the reward.
At any given moment, the choice isn’t just between one app or another. It’s between watching Netflix, going to the gym, scrolling social media, meditating, or finally tackling that project you promised yourself six months ago. It’s about how soon we get the reward and how long we can hold on to the drip.

Our brains are primed for addiction. And I think I speak on behalf of all mammals here. You can observe this everywhere, not just in lab experiments.
We know what triggers dopamine and how it keeps people glued to screens, food, or any other stimulus that delivers instant gratification. Sugar, salt, cocaine, amphetamines, porn, TikTok videos, you name it.
One last thing before I get back on track: Do you know how long it takes to become addicted to TikTok? About 35 minutes. Does that sound crazy? It is. [Read this for more]
We know what triggers dopamine and how it keeps people glued to screens, food, or any other stimulus that delivers instant gratification. Sugar, salt, cocaine, amphetamines, porn, TikTok videos, you name it.
One last thing before I get back on track: Do you know how long it takes to become addicted to TikTok? About 35 minutes. Does that sound crazy? It is. [Read this for more]
Back to Friction.
Meaningful experiences are strongly connected to personal values and principles. What matters to someone is profoundly shaped by their priorities—their beliefs, lived experiences, and context. We must recognise that some organisations have successfully severed that link, and everything in their experiences is about cheap access to instant gratification. Addiction is a useful byproduct, the most important ingredient of the attention economy. I could go on and on about the different flavours and triggers, but I'm already all over the place.
At its core, meaning should relate to an experience. It should reflect value filtered through personal values, principles, and context. Two people can experience the same activity or experience, but what it means to them will be completely different because meaning is deeply subjective.
Friction doesn’t just slow things down or make them harder. It can add depth, sharpen focus, and reinforce meaning; then again, if misused, it can strip meaning away.
Every product designer, owner, and marketer will give an example of friction in a checkout process. What can be done to add oil to that funnel? I would argue that this is distracting. The honest conversation should be, is the value you offer worth the time and effort? If not, we should work on that.
At its core, meaning should relate to an experience. It should reflect value filtered through personal values, principles, and context. Two people can experience the same activity or experience, but what it means to them will be completely different because meaning is deeply subjective.
Friction doesn’t just slow things down or make them harder. It can add depth, sharpen focus, and reinforce meaning; then again, if misused, it can strip meaning away.
Every product designer, owner, and marketer will give an example of friction in a checkout process. What can be done to add oil to that funnel? I would argue that this is distracting. The honest conversation should be, is the value you offer worth the time and effort? If not, we should work on that.
A word about texture.
Texture is how friction can add or remove meaning. It’s how friction is felt. How an experience is defined, and how a brand is shaped.
The rubber on car tyres enables friction, but pressure and texture give grip and control.
How an interface responds determines whether friction feels intentional or frustrating.
Friction, pressure, texture, and meaning all rely on balance.
If friction is too high and the texture is rough, the experience feels like an obstacle. If friction is too low and the texture is missing, the experience feels empty and loses meaning.
The best experiences find the right balance between effort, incentive, and reward.
And the quality of friction makes all the difference.
The rubber on car tyres enables friction, but pressure and texture give grip and control.
How an interface responds determines whether friction feels intentional or frustrating.
Friction, pressure, texture, and meaning all rely on balance.
If friction is too high and the texture is rough, the experience feels like an obstacle. If friction is too low and the texture is missing, the experience feels empty and loses meaning.
The best experiences find the right balance between effort, incentive, and reward.
And the quality of friction makes all the difference.
Conclusion
I’ll leave you with this:
People don’t care about effort. They care about whether the juice is worth the squeeze. That’s how they take on mortgages, grind through marathons, and haul themselves up Everest.
It’s also why they quit, keep scrolling, and chase the next dopamine hit, locked in a loop they don’t even realise they’re stuck in.
The actual conversation isn’t about eliminating friction. It’s about making the reward so obvious and compelling that effort isn’t a burden.
But before getting there, we must discuss the values and principles holding our families and societies together. So far, most of our basic needs have been a feast for corporations. In the name of solving problems, how we communicate, eat, and find a mate has become a billion-dollar business, and nobody seems to care about externalities as long as the shareholders are happy.
Friction is good as long as it does not exploit our senses.
Friction is what we use to shape the world around us. The ingredients, texture, pressure and incentive are far more critical in an age where we have the power to unlock and exploit the human mind.
To be continued…
People don’t care about effort. They care about whether the juice is worth the squeeze. That’s how they take on mortgages, grind through marathons, and haul themselves up Everest.
It’s also why they quit, keep scrolling, and chase the next dopamine hit, locked in a loop they don’t even realise they’re stuck in.
The actual conversation isn’t about eliminating friction. It’s about making the reward so obvious and compelling that effort isn’t a burden.
But before getting there, we must discuss the values and principles holding our families and societies together. So far, most of our basic needs have been a feast for corporations. In the name of solving problems, how we communicate, eat, and find a mate has become a billion-dollar business, and nobody seems to care about externalities as long as the shareholders are happy.
Friction is good as long as it does not exploit our senses.
Friction is what we use to shape the world around us. The ingredients, texture, pressure and incentive are far more critical in an age where we have the power to unlock and exploit the human mind.
To be continued…
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