Rediscovering the Value of Doing Things Yourself or: On the hidden costs of effortless living
What are we handing over, and what are we losing in return?
The world has never been more convenient. A scooter on every corner. Groceries at your door. Answers in milliseconds. A text that writes itself. Convenience promises quality of life. It saves us time. It makes things easier. It’s a small luxury in a busy world.
But let’s ask a different question: What are we actually giving up when everything becomes easy?
What should we stop doing and what should we keep doing on purpose?
No one wants to return to the Stone Age. We’re not meant to scrub clothes by the river or get lost without GPS. But in our quest to eliminate friction, we’ve also outsourced experiences that used to matter.
We sit to work. We sit to shop. We sit to scroll.
We no longer navigate > we follow.
We no longer write > we prompt.
We no longer walk > we ride electric scooters ten minutes down the street.
None of this is evil.
But is it always good?
We’ve outsourced experiences that used to matter
Why convenience weakens something deeper: agency, effort, pride
Humans need to feel capable. We need to experience effort—and the pride of getting something done. But when everything is instant and effortless, we lose that feeling. We start confusing the result for the process. We take hundreds of photos but never sort them (taking photos used to be a selective process, a well considered decision to spend money on the development of the film). We let AI write essays, but skip the thinking. We solve everything in a second, and forget what it means to wait, wrestle, refine. Convenience removes friction, but it also removes meaning. And when meaning disappears, so does motivation, identity, pride.
When meaning disappears, so does motivation, identity, pride.
Convenience shapes more than habits, it shapes systems
Convenience doesn’t stop at individual habits. It reshapes industries, infrastructure, values. Examples? Shared city-bikes piling up like trash and e-scooters blocking sidewalks, draining energy. Solar panels on farmland instead of rooftops, because it’s made easier by regulations. Light pollution for the majority of people in urban areas, because we can always keep the lights on. Apps replacing understanding; automation replacing orientation.
Convenience is never neutral. It creates dependencies. It accelerates consumption. It disrupts social and ecological balance, quietly, but profoundly.
Convenience is never neutral.
Convenience is fine, until it becomes a mindset
To be clear: not all convenience is bad. Some of it is liberating, for example in healthcare, care work, in aging and in times of stress. But convenience must remain a tool and not become a worldview. In short; it can support thinking, but should not replace it. It can assist decisions, but should not make them (or be trusted to do so). It can enhance access, but should not dull awareness.
We need technology that helps us act, without making us passive. Assistance is useful. Blind automation is not.
In a world of shortcuts, effort becomes valuable again
The more effortless life becomes, the more meaningful effort becomes. Especially when everything becomes instantly available, patience does not become outdated and understanding is not optional. Frustration is not failure, but an essential part of growth. Maybe we need to stop optimizing everything and start rediscovering how it feels to do something the long way, on purpose, with attention and care.
Final thought: Let’s never forget how to think for ourselves
Let’s build tools that support us, but let’s never forget how it feels to figure things out on our own. Because that’s the one ability no system should ever take away. Maybe guidance systems are the best way to give people a choice, how much they would like to learn and how much they just want to get done.
To question, to reflect, to navigate (not just routes, but choices) are useful and important tasks we should not entirely outsource for convenience.
Convenience makes life easier. But it is only a benefit when we know where we’re really going, and how it should feel.
