Psychology Life Lessons is a podcast where we listen in on conversations with experts and try to extract life lessons, and maybe a little wisdom.
In this episode of Psychology Life Lessons, Dan talks with journalist Gabe Bullard, author of Against Convenience: Embracing Friction in an Age of Endless Ease. Together they examine the hidden costs of technologies that promise to make life easier. Gabe defines a convenience as anything that saves, or claims to save, time, money, or energy. He contrasts “true” conveniences like the Starbucks app with “false” ones like self-checkout–but all conveniences come at a cost where effort is never eliminated, only shifted onto workers, customers, or communities. Dan and Gabe explore how endless ease leads us to interact with machines instead of people, turns art into background noise, and pushes creators toward constant spectacle. Drawing on research about flow and habituation, they consider how frictionless living can leave people isolated, bored, and cut off from the challenge that makes life meaningful. The conversation closes on a hopeful note, with practical ways to reintroduce friction and Gabe’s invitation to weigh what we gain and lose each time we choose the easy path.
Gabe Bullard is a journalist, critic, and broadcaster. He has written for NPR, The New York Times Magazine, Nieman Reports, 99% Invisible, Bright Wall/Dark Room, The Washington Post, and Smithsonian Magazine, among other outlets. He was a Nieman journalism fellow at Harvard University and is co-founder of Together, Alone, an online magazine of television criticism. He’s from the Midwest and now lives in Switzerland.
Check out his website: gabebullard.com
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Psychology Life Lessons 