Frictionless – But at What Cost?

In this post, I reflect on a thought-provoking article by Rachel Botsman and explore what her ideas mean for disabled people navigating work, isolation, and connection in a post-pandemic world.

---

During COVID, the world stayed home. Work went online, meetings went virtual, and life became more accessible for many disabled people. What had previously been dismissed as “unworkable” – remote jobs, flexible hours, online events – became normal almost overnight.

In her RSA article Trust Fall, Rachel Botsman asks: “Technology has enabled our retreat into increasingly homebound lives of frictionless convenience – but at what cost?” She argues that we are social animals, wired for connection, yet increasingly buffered from one another by screens and algorithms. We avoid friction, but we also avoid each other.

This resonates deeply with the experience of many disabled people. The shift to remote working was liberating—no commute, fewer access barriers, more autonomy—but it also brought new risks. Homeliness, in this context, is both comfort and constraint. The kitchen table becomes the office and the boundary of our world.

Out of sight too quickly becomes out of mind. We miss casual chats, spontaneous ideas, and the chance encounters that build trust and opportunity. When inclusion happens only through a screen, we risk a kind of polite invisibility.

Botsman warns that convenience can erode the glue that holds society together. For disabled people, the danger is being welcomed into the digital world but quietly excluded from the human one. While technology offers access, it can’t replace the social rituals that help us feel part of something bigger.

So what can we do – individually – while we wait for systems to catch up?

Here’s a simple action plan for disabled people feeling the drag of digital isolation:

• Acknowledge it. Notice if solitude is tipping into loneliness. That awareness matters.

• Build a routine around people. Schedule regular chats. Join a group – not disability-related, but anything you enjoy.

• Stay visible at work. Ask for hybrid options. Share updates. Suggest informal ways to connect.

• Balance online and offline. Accessible community hubs, cafés, local meetups – small steps outwards can make a difference.

• Care for your mental health. Talk to someone if you’re struggling. Peer support counts.

• Keep asking: What do I need right now? You get to define what connection looks like for you.

This isn’t about fixing isolation with productivity tips. It’s about staying in the picture – on your terms. Because the real danger of frictionless living isn’t just loneliness. It’s being forgotten.

As the push to return to the office gathers pace, we must resist a false choice between presence and absence. We need hybrid working designed for connection – not just efficiency.

Real inclusion means recognising that while homeliness can offer refuge, we also need ways to belong beyond the front door. Trust grows in shared space, not just shared files.

We’re social animals. Let’s not forget how to be social – and let’s make sure no one gets left behind.