Friction-maxxing and the case for a less convenient life

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Something about the phrase “friction-maxxing” struck a nerve. When Kathryn Jezer-Morton, a columnist for New York magazine’s The Cut, published an essay in December 2025 naming the feeling of wanting to push back against frictionless technology, the response was immediate. She has spent the months since watching the idea […] The post Friction-maxxing and the case for a less convenient life first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.