Friction is good, actually
Takeaways from Filterworld + Cowgirl Kaley goes to the rodeo + Altadena girls inspire us + Gen Z moves to RedNote + a new gaming obsession
Is convenience making everything boring?: Megan advocates for friction
I recently finished reading Kyle Chayka’s Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture, an incredibly well researched and explored meditation on the state of the internet. At just under 300 pages, it’s admittedly a bit of a dense and academic read, but is chock full of amazing insight.
In Filterworld, Chayka–a staff writer at The New Yorker–effectively makes the case that modern art & culture are being shaped by profit-driven algorithms. And when everything's meant to be filtered through an algorithm built to reward scale, we’re no longer encouraging ideas that are truly innovative and push culture forward but instead doubling down on what draws eyeballs, quality be damned.
Throughout the book, I was struck by how many times the word “frictionless” was used, often in describing the goals of the internet. In Filterworld, we’ve come to expect the kind of seamless user experience exemplified by brands like Apple who aim to make their technology so intuitive there’s almost no learning curve. But Filterworld had me questioning the inherent value of experiences being “frictionlessness.” Who does it benefit? The big tech brands driving the attention economy, of course
“Frictionlessness is always the Filterworld ideal - as soon as you slow down, you might just reconsider what you're clicking on and giving your data away. Friction allows people to think about their actions, a point that applies just as well to Spotify radio or the TikTok feed. If you think too much, you might stop.
-Nicole Gil as quoted by Kyle Chayka in “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture”
Being a market researcher, you’re often forced to face the tensions between what people say they do and what they actually do, who they want to think of themselves as and who they truly are, and most important: what they say they want versus what they actually want. Like eating a delicious but artery clogging meal or having another drink to keep the party going, just because something feels good going down doesn’t mean it’s good for us or what we most need. Similarly, just because something is difficult (friction filled) doesn’t mean it’s as inherently undesirable as Filterworld would want you to believe.
I tend to agree with Chayka that big tech’s over-reliance on creating frictionless environments is actually holding us back. I also see this in Gen Z with experts suggesting that Gen Z’s “snowplow” parents (who cut down obstacles for their kids before they face them) have actually weakened their child’s sense of self confidence longterm by denying them opportunities to build it.
When you think about it, friction is the entire point of some of life’s greatest pleasures. From the literally feel-good friction of a deep tissue massage to the triumphant feeling of challenging yourself to something difficult and conquering it to hobbies like knitting or puzzles, part of being alive is about embracing friction and growing from it. Hell, even our collective obsession with Housewives-style reality TV could be seen as an instinctual draw to friction-filled social dynamics.
Friction is a natural part of life. I walked away from Filterworld with a newfound appreciation for friction and a hunch that we’re in for a pendulum swing: “Filterworld’s” rejection of friction is actually going to make us crave it (or at least the culture enriching effects of it).
This week in Cool Shiny Culture:
🤠 Kaley’s Cool: This ain’t my first rodeo. It’s my second! This weekend we had a girls’ night out at the rodeo, inspired by BookTok’s Chestnut Springs romance series. The series, written by Elsie Silver, is set on a cattle ranch in Calgary and had us pining over callused men in chaps. So we saddled up our horse (minivan) and rode into the city (suburbs) and caught ourselves a bull riding show. Could I have skipped the portion of the night where they gave a shout out to the US Border Patrol? Yes, but it was overall a great time and a good reminder to consume culture outside your own sphere; it’s good for grounding and expansion.
💖 Megan’s Cool: My world (LA) is on fire but your girl’s okay. While it’s been incredibly sad to watch my fellow angelenos forced to evacuate and many lose their homes, it’s also been heartwarming to watch my city come together in a time of crisis. One especially inspiring example comes from 14 year old Avery Colvert who started Altadena Girls focused on “Restoring Normalcy For The Teenage Victims of the #EatonCanyonFire” through mutual aid.
🧩Kaley’s Shiny: Since Christmas, I’ve been hyper fixated on puzzle game Block Blast. It’s Tetris without gravity and according to my brother-in-law, very hot among his high school students. The addicting mobile game was a helpful distraction this week from the hellacious news out of LA. H/t to bae Kassie for getting me hooked.
🧧Megan’s Shiny: Over the weekend, we saw proof positive just how friction can be a catalyst to shake up a stagnant culture as TikTok users facing the impending ban flocked to RedNote or Xiaohongshu (the Chinese version of TikTok) and began learning Mandarin to protest in the face of the imminent ban.
Must See TT [Trend]: A farewell to my “Chinese Spy”
Speaking of the ban, TikTok users are handling this with their signature ironic and absurdist IYKYK antics. Our feeds have been flooded with memes featuring users bidding farewell to their “Chinese Spy”:
This seemingly simple trend is actually a prime example of the layered internet humor that thrives on TikTok. Adopting the melodramatics of a main character in a drama being torn away from their lover “Chinese Spy” (the algorithm personified), they’re making a tongue-in-cheek reference to the political rhetoric behind the ban that builds on the existing “FBI guy” meme. The levels.
The Opposite of Cynical: Bing bop boom goat
Watch this happy little goat frolick to Kendrick Lamar’s song peakaboo, trending on TikTok (while you still can)
Thanks for reading. Please donate to help people and animals recover from the fires. We love you, LA! 🫶🏻🫶🏽
Megan & Kaley
I’ve never heard of snowplow parents 😬 great insights!