Against Convenience: Embracing Friction in an Age of Endless Ease – A Sociology and Self-Help Guide to Digital Detox and Mindfulness

By: Bullard, Gabe

Published by Hanover Square Press, 2026-09-15

A provocative exploration of modern “convenience culture”—and how we can resist and reclaim our time, resilience, and happiness, for fans of How to Do Nothing and The Courage to Be Disliked. We live in a world addicted to convenience. Countless tools and innovations fill our daily lives, allowing us to swipe, tap, click, and subscribe without a second thought. We order food to our front door, call an Uber for a ride down the street, and scroll through the endless songs and TV shows at our fingertips. In theory, convenience should give us more energy and time to do things we want to do, and make unpleasant jobs faster and simpler. But is it working? Journalist Gabe Bullard reveals the hidden architecture behind the ubiquitous modern-day services and technologies that allegedly make our lives easier. At best, many of them aren’t any more convenient than what they replaced. At worst, they leave us isolated—home alone with soggy french fries, forgettable streaming shows, a degraded planet, and a smaller bank account. But we don’t have to settle. In Against Convenience, Bullard draws a road map for how we can fight back against the juggernaut of empty ease to live a more meaningful, deeper, and gratifying life.