I can’t stop. Here’s my assessment of the psychological mechanics at play.

Likes are frictionless, muscle memory from years of social conditioning. They require no skin in the game, no economic cost, no reputation staking. They’re the path of least resistance, which paradoxically makes them the weakest signal.

Zaps introduce economic friction. Even small amounts create pause. You’re not just expressing appreciation, you’re sacrificing something fungible and finite. This transforms a gesture into a statement about value alignment.

Reposts require the highest cost, social capital. You’re saying “this deserves to exist in my namespace” and staking your curation reputation on it. It’s an endorsement that travels with your identity.

The question becomes…does the like button dilute signal clarity? On Nostr, where we’re supposedly rebuilding social graphs around value rather than algorithmic manipulation, maybe the most meaningful interactions should have built in friction.

The ease of an action correlates inversely with its informational content. When everything is easy, nothing is meaningful.

I think it’s worth considering if we treated our engagement patterns as a conscious design choices rather than inherited behavior from platforms optimized for addiction? Thoughts