NOVITA'[1792]

This article, first published in Journal of Digital Media & Interaction ISSN 2184-3120 Vol. 8, No. 20 (2025), pp. 105–119 DOI:10.34624/jdmi.v8i20.40175, explores the conceptual value of friction in digital interactions, opposing the dominant rhetoric of “zero friction” in contemporary design, which reduces experience to mere efficiency. The removal of friction raises fundamental questions about the nature of experience and the formation of knowledge, since human experience has historically involved engagement with the resistance of the external world — an element that stimulates attention and meaning. In digital contexts, interface design aims to maximize fluidity, minimizing difficulty and interruption. While this improves usability, it can also diminish cognitive engagement and the capacity for critical interaction, fostering a perception of the world as entirely controllable and devoid of mystery. The article argues that friction can instead constitute a generative resource, not only in videogames — where it takes the form of intentional difficulty that prompts strategic reflection — but also in learning and neuroscience, as a space for error, recalibration, and cognitive effort. The analysis proposes a conceptual framework connecting these domains, showing how friction can become a condition for learning, engagement, and transformation. Keywords: Friction; Error; Digital interaction; Transformative learning; Game-based learning; Neuroplasticity

In un mondo progettato per eliminare ogni attrito, qualcosa di essenziale si sta assottigliando. Questo testo esplora cosa perdiamo quando la semplicità diventa totale