Bring back Friction on the Internet
Source: The case for slowing everything down a bit by Ezra Klein
- The reduction of friction on the web is a business strategy. “Less friction means more time spent, more ads seen, more sales made. Tech companies lose customers during login screens and security verification, and as a result of slow load times. The country’s top computer science talent is paid billions of dollars to further reduce the milliseconds of delay separating our desires and their fulfillment.”
- “The philosophy of the Internet has assumed that friction is always part of the problem,” writes Kosslyn. But look around. The problem now isn’t too much friction; it’s too little. “It’s time,” he says, “to bring friction back.”
- Friction creates space in the system where judgment can intercede, where second thoughts can be had, where decisions can be made.
- Writing, by contrast, is full of friction. It’s hard and slow, and the words on the page fall short of the music and clarity I imagined they’d have. But it is, in the end, rewarding. It’s where I have at least a chance to create something worth creating. The work is worth it.
Related: digital mindfulness