Some people won’t touch A.I. with a 10-foot pole, unless it offers so much convenience that it could save you HOURS or DAYS worth of work.
But is that lack of effort leading to more UNHAPPINESS?
The term “friction-maxxing” is trending. The idea is that technology and things like ChatGPT are making things so convenient that they’re effortless, and that’s making things less satisfying, producing less happiness.
Got it?
It’s a NEW thing. So previously common conveniences like microwaves and dishwashers are fine, the focus is on the newer innovations that can basically allow us to avoid life experiences altogether. Like Uber Eats or using A.I. to respond to texts.
One recent report puts it like this: “Tech companies are succeeding in making us think of life itself as inconvenient: Reading is boring, talking is awkward, moving is tiring, leaving the house is daunting, thinking is hard, interacting with strangers is scary, these are all ‘frictions’ that we can now eliminate, easily, and we do.”
So the challenge for 2026 is “friction-maxxing.” It’s the process of building up tolerance for “inconvenience.”
Suggestions include: Stop “sharing your location” with your family, digitally, stop using ChatGPT completely, invite people over to your house without cleaning it all the way up, and send your kids to run small errands for you, even if “they’ll probably do a bad or incomplete job.”
Basically: Engage more with the things you want to do and learn. Spend more time personally interacting with those around you, both within your circles, and with strangers. And become LESS of a brainless conduit for A.I.
