Against Convenience
Embracing Friction in an Age of Endless Ease
Will be published approx. on 15. September 2026
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-1-335-00069-9 (ISBN)
Description
From seasoned journalist and critic Gabe Bullard, 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: ordering groceries to your door, calling an Uber for a ride up the block, or scrolling the endless songs and TV shows at our fingertips. In theory, convenience can leave us with more energy and time to do what we want to do, save us resources, and complete tasks with less effort than before.
But what if we aren’t actually accomplishing any of those things?
Expert journalist Gabe Bullard reveals an entire hidden architecture behind the ubiquitous modern-day services and technologies that allegedly make our lives easier. At best, many of them aren’t actually convenient at all, and at their worst, they compromise our physical and mental well-being and lead to shallower relationships, lower quality life and art, and a degraded planet.
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: ordering groceries to your door, calling an Uber for a ride up the block, or scrolling the endless songs and TV shows at our fingertips. In theory, convenience can leave us with more energy and time to do what we want to do, save us resources, and complete tasks with less effort than before.
But what if we aren’t actually accomplishing any of those things?
Expert journalist Gabe Bullard reveals an entire hidden architecture behind the ubiquitous modern-day services and technologies that allegedly make our lives easier. At best, many of them aren’t actually convenient at all, and at their worst, they compromise our physical and mental well-being and lead to shallower relationships, lower quality life and art, and a degraded planet.
More details
Other editions
Additional editions
Gabe Bullard
Against Convenience
The Hidden Costs of Our Everyday Choices, and How to Make Better Ones
E-Book
approx. 09/2026
Hanover Square Press
€8.60
Not yet available
Person
Gabe Bullard is a Nieman Journalism Fellow and a journalist with twenty years of experience. He has been a reporter for public radio in Kentucky and served as second-in-command in the digital news department at National Geographic. He helped launch NPR's newest talk show, 1A, then became Managing Producer of NPR's Here & Now. Gabe received his Masters in Literature, Culture, and Technology from American University, and his capstone project won the school's Kessler-Roberts Award for literary analysis. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, 99% Invisible, and Smithsonian Magazine. He writes a column on technology for the media-focused magazine Nieman Reports, based at Harvard University. He recently co-founded Together, Alone, an online magazine of television criticism.