Except there may not be any hoops to jump through with MFA if it is "too secure". See "I've locked myself out of my digital life" (a thought experiment):
* https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/06/ive-locked-myself-out-of-my...
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31652650
> Maybe, if people get locked out of their google account because they lost their recovery keys, they will in fact learn that, yes, they should have printed out their recovery keys (something which you are prompted to do), or stored them in an otherwise safe location (e.g. password manager).
Except at that point it could be too late and they've lost all access to their digital life/assets.
The difference is I can physically show myself at the embassy or consulate. I can ask a locksmith to come to my place.
I can't do either when I lock myself out of my Gmail account.
It's also "very easy" to be traveling, lose your passport or ID and not have a backup with you. Or to accidentally leave your house and forget your keys inside. Or any other number of comparable scenarios.
When that happens to you, it sucks, and you will have to jump through hoops. But still that doesn't mean that passports and keys aren't valuable in terms of security.
Of course, the difference is that people understand the value of passports and physical keys, but by and large they fail to grasp the importance of IT security or how to protect themselves. This is, ultimately, an education problem. But we don't have the same internet anymore as 20 years ago, and the problems associated with identity theft, unauthorised access, etc. are much bigger than they were, so we can't afford to be too cavalier about it anymore.
Maybe, if people get locked out of their google account because they lost their recovery keys, they will in fact learn that, yes, they should have printed out their recovery keys (something which you are prompted to do), or stored them in an otherwise safe location (e.g. password manager).