Useful friction.
Not every pause is a usability problem. Some decisions deserve to feel consequential.
Removing friction is not a universal product strategy. It is a specific response to a specific obstacle. Applied blindly, it removes context, confirmation and the moment in which a user understands what is about to happen.
Good friction protects irreversible actions, creates rhythm and makes a dense system legible. Bad friction repeats information, hides state and asks the user to compensate for an organisation that has not made a decision.
The goal is not to make every path shorter. It is to make every step earn its place.