Andy Matuschak on Tech Imposition: A Few Early Adopters Can Force Everyone Else to Follow
andy_matuschak · x · 2026-09-10
Responding to the distinction between offering opt-in options and radically altering everyone's status quo, Andy Matuschak argues it's not black and white. Citing Gregory's essay, he notes a few early adopters can effectively compel everyone else—smartphones went from a third of US owners to near-mandatory within a decade, via both social norms and formal barriers like two-factor authentication. Even on a spectrum, the core tension remains.
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