No Friction

No friction is making us lazy and entitled, things are far too easy. And when things are easy the value of them drops. Friction brings work and work increases value.

Free things are nice initially but our satisfaction (dopamine) is as low as anything. The free thing has not challenged us so there is no reward when we get it.

It is in all forms. We used to feel special when people remembered our birthdays as we knew they had worked hard to remember them or had a secret black book they maintained. Now apps (who’s notifications infiltrate our lives make it hard to forget depending on our levels of distraction) prompt us to send shallow pre written greetings at the click of a button and it means little to the receiver because they know you have not worked for it.

Genius marketing understands the level of friction required to keep people interested and a good campaign deploys it perfectly. It makes us work, makes us want and makes us so much happier when we get the product and our dopamine is released.

The right amount of friction in all areas of life helps us all. Removing it is a disaster.