Stolen Focus

Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again

By: Johann Hari

Narrated by: Johann Hari

Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. From the author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections comes a groundbreaking examination of why this is happening—and how to get our attention back.

“The book the world needs in order to win the war on distraction.”—Adam Grant, author of Think Again

“Read this book to save your mind.”—Susan Cain, author of Quiet

WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Post, Mashable, Mindful

In the United States, teenagers can focus on one task for only sixty-five seconds at a time, and office workers average only three minutes. Like so many of us, Johann Hari was finding that constantly switching from device to device and tab to tab was a diminishing and depressing way to live. He tried all sorts of self-help solutions—even abandoning his phone for three months—but nothing seemed to work. So Hari went on an epic journey across the world to interview the leading experts on human attention—and he discovered that everything we think we know about this crisis is wrong.

We think our inability to focus is a personal failure to exert enough willpower over our devices. The truth is even more disturbing: our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces that have left us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. Hari found that there are twelve deep causes of this crisis, from the decline of mind-wandering to rising pollution, all of which have robbed some of our attention. In Stolen Focus, he introduces readers to Silicon Valley dissidents who learned to hack human attention, and veterinarians who diagnose dogs with ADHD. He explores a favela in Rio de Janeiro where everyone lost their attention in a particularly surreal way, and an office in New Zealand that discovered a remarkable technique to restore workers’ productivity.

Crucially, Hari learned how we can reclaim our focus—as individuals, and as a society—if we are determined to fight for it. Stolen Focus will transform the debate about attention and finally show us how to get it back.

©2022 Johann Hari (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[A] fresh take on focus and attention . . . You’ll learn a lot from this book, and its well-researched data is presented in a highly readable style laced with stories and personal anecdotes. Which is to say, against all odds, it will hold your attention.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Where other books about our relationship to technology tend to focus on personal responsibility, stressing the importance of self-control, Stolen Focus takes a step back and examines the ecosystem that created the problem. . . . Hari’s writing is incredibly readable.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Big-name websites and apps strive to distract because that’s the key to profitability. When we’re looking at our screens, these companies make money; when we’re not, they don’t. . . . It’s a call to arms, to be sure, and I’m tempted to tell my Twitter followers about it—but I’ve deleted the app from my phone.”—The Washington Post

Hari Just Gets Better and Better

Read Chasing The Scream some years ago, then Lost Connections, which was profoundly moving.

If possible, this is better than either of them. I know Hari has come under attack for borrowing and mis quoting and failing to properly reference his sources, but one thing that really can’t be faulted is the way he carries his audience through his journeys of exploration. He’s an extremely accessible writer who likes to take complex topics apart and make them understandable to the layperson. He’s thoughtful, evenhanded and compassionate in his treatment of his interviewees. In this book he tries hard — and nearly succeeds— to move far beyond partisan issues. It’s apolitical enough that I feel comfortable recommending it to my far-right family members.

I certainly agree with him that we ought to just make surveillance capitalism illegal. It’s such a straightforward solution to a problem that is usually represented as very complex and thorny. It is? Why can’t we just buy things and services the way we did before the internet? Without Corporate trying to get in our heads and target us. Without using hate and anger as triggers to get clicks. Please.

Excellent

This book changed the way I think about so many things. The narration is terrific. I highly recommend it.

enlightening

left wanting more. this book has extremely useful knowledge pertaining to the world in which we are living in. what great insight. thanks johann

Essential information

A very critical topic at a critical time. Getting a glimpse of the depth and reach of implications related to our attention issues is key to being able to set ourselves and our world on a more sustainable path. In every way!
If you were even slightly alarmed by watching’Social Dilemma’ you will appreciate this much deeper dive -as well as hopeful activism for a better future outlook.

Detailed

loved that Johan covered a lot of aspects that hinders sustained focus. from history, to new age aspects. from chemical injestion to behavioral conditioning. great read.

Insightful and Significant

Hari’s look at our relationship with technology and its unrelenting pull for our attention gave me compassion for people I have relegated as hopelessly addicted to their virtual life.

It makes me want to back out with different expectations. Stolen Focus should be added to your library. I recommended it to my physician. When he graduated from Med School tech algorithms hadn’t been on the radar as a means to make us sadder, madder and more isolated in an already different world. A world that had already begun to speed up beyond our capacity to keep pace.

Mind blowing and important!

Required reading! Stolen Focus is more than just a book about focus but about saving humanity starting with our very own minds. It is full of insights, anecdotes, and research that make up the basis for why our focus is indeed stolen and what we can do to get it back. From permission to mind wander and slow down to the grave peril we are all in if we don’t come to grips with our draining focus in ourselves and our children, comes this profound book with a story for all to hear.

This book had me nodding yes…

Johan - you hit so many points that resonated with me and my thoughts the last few years. It’s so hugely comforting to hear someone articulate what I’ve been experiencing for the last five years or more. This book is great for understanding what changes we’re all facing and dealing with, even though we may not have acknowledged it. Great content and relatability is off the scale. Totally recommend!

Important reading.

If I could implore the army of simpering drones living their lives responsively and reflexively in a state of subservience to their notifications to read just one book: it would be this one.

It pairs well with Cal Newport's book Deep Work and Shoshana Zuboff's book the Age of Surveillance Capitalism, as well as Nir Eyal's Indistractible.

This should be a required text for everyone

The author breaks down heavy information into digestible chunks. Remarkable and well rounded research is accompanied by personal stories and relatable situations. I believe this text should be read by any adult who seeks to better understand themselves and their environment.