Writer and academic Ian Bogost is preparing a new book, The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life, built around a simple but timely idea: modern convenience has made daily life smoother, yet often less tangible. Drawing on examples from cars, bathrooms, doors, and other ordinary objects, Bogost explores how technology and systems of efficiency can quietly separate people from the physical world.
The book expands on a theme Bogost has long explored in his writing: the tradeoff between speed and sensation. He argues that many everyday experiences have become increasingly automated, from self-flushing toilets to touchless fixtures and app-based services. While these tools improve convenience, they can also reduce the small moments of interaction that make daily life feel vivid and human.
Bogost says he is less interested in broad criticism than in restoring attention to the sensory details of ordinary life. For him, meaning is not found only in major cultural shifts, but also in the texture of routine experiences -- the feel of a handset, the sound of a door, or the simple act of doing something with one's own body.
He also places the discussion in a wider historical context, noting that computing once aimed to fit human needs more closely. Over time, however, digital systems increasingly prioritized automation, invisibility, and scale. Bogost suggests that the next phase of design may need to value not just outcomes, but the experience of getting there.
Rather than calling for nostalgia, he frames the book as a guide for living more fully in the present. His message is that people do not need to wait for a perfect system to rediscover everyday gratification. Small, intentional choices can already reshape how technology feels in daily life. That perspective may help define a more human-centered future for digital culture.
