Leisurely
An ongoing series on embracing friction, slowness & intentionality.
Boxes stacking at the doorstep between odd-hours. Shrill chirping scanners at self-checkout. Liquified meals on subscription. Facial scanners at the welcome mat of every home. An “online/available/offline” status. Swarms of driverless cars drawing secret patterns on quiet streets. The corral of algorithms supplying a content stupor. The “inevitability” of AI, suggesting its way into an email, a text, a thought, a photo, a painting, a voice, any shred of original expression.
This friction-less world is one shaped for maximum efficiency and ease. It is true, friction can be uncomfortable – challenging, boring, meandering, unpredictable and even at times… inconvenient (gasp!). Champions of friction-less-ness might suggest friction is useless. Time is money after all, and friction certainly slows things down. Opponents of friction say: don’t think, consume.
But what are we consuming? Why, if we have more time, does it seem to slip by faster? And what are we rushing to accomplish? Why are we chasing nostalgia as we barrel towards an uncertain future? Why does this optimized existence feel so empty and soulless? While modern technology has simplified everything from ordering a bite (from pre-selected options), finding a date (amongst commodified profiles) and shit-posting world leaders (within platforms that curate expression), it hasn’t exactly lead to resounding clarity, connection or personal fulfillment. Social media and AI are extensions of the Attention Economy – a system that treats human focus as a finite, trade-able commodity rather than an endless resource. Technology is presented as a neutral tool even as it is concepted and peddled by complex and fallible people. Media Diets have been designed to drive constant engagement through sensationalized content, curated feeds, addictive clips and 24-hour cycles that drive intense emotional responses. A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and…wait, what was I saying?
“The byword was ‘engagement’: whatever was popular would be pushed to become more popular; whatever didn’t get immediate attention was deemed undeserving and allowed to slip quickly into the void. Algorithms sought to ‘personalize’ our feeds, but the effect was that social media began to feel less personal.”
Kyle Chayka, Filterworld
Lives are on autoplay. Brain rot, burn out, loneliness and lack of focus are on the rise. The Emotional Intelligence Network has declared a global Emotional Recession. Just 29 percent of adults felt that being online positively affects their mental health, down from 33 per cent in 2024 (ofcom). Endless scrolling of sludge content has created a chasm between experience and meaning.
The fleeting boredoms and struggles optimization removed from daily life were the serendipitous paths, long walks and messy mistakes that form identities, build intimacy and spark creativity. Perhaps this is why friction-maxxing, a behavioral shift towards re-introducing manageable inconveniences into everyday tasks, sparked a trend earlier this year. Friction-maxxing practitioners might trade digital tech for analogue solutions or develop skills amongst community (cooking, cleaning, navigating) they could be tempted to outsource. And yet, even as Dazed asked “Is 2026 the Year of Analogue,” they noted that much of excitement about analogue alternatives seems to be discussed and disseminated online (Alas, here we are too dear reader). But friction-maxing doesn’t require a rejection of technology altogether. Instead it suggests a burgeoning awareness of the methods technology employs to influence behavior, regardless of human impact. It highlights a desire to re-examine relationships to media consumption and direct attention towards new pathways of relating to ourselves and each-other. It presents an opportunity for individuals, businesses and institutions to prioritize something richer than convenience – meaning.
As Cal Newport writes in Digital Minimalism, “Digital minimalists see new technologies as tools to be used to support things they deeply value–not as sources of value themselves.” Cal emphasizes the importance of High Quality Leisure – activities that prioritize demanding pursuits over passive consumption, require skill to produce valuable things in the physical world, and involve structured, real-world social interactions. To preserve autonomy and resist hyper-efficiency requires an intentional quest for re-engagement with environments, communities and crafts that can’t be easily attained or commodified. `
So, what does this slower, more intentional, world potentially look like? What barriers might we face in building it? How can we start to explore new (and old) modes of connecting and creating? We are setting off (on foot – toes in the grass) to explore these questions in this series, Leisurely, across several lenses such as:
(Digital) Gardening
Listening
Diets (Media & Otherwise)
Navigating
We will share concepts and examples that, we hope, might take us a few steps closer to a more sensitive world. We will examine how to curate better media diets as well as how to invest in high quality leisure. At times it might seem like we are traveling backwards, forwards, or altogether sideways, but hey – that’s all part of the journey.
