Stolen Focus

Why You Can't Pay Attention

By: Johann Hari

Narrated by: Johann Hari

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, read by Johann Hari.

Why have we lost our ability to focus? What are the causes? And, most importantly, how do we get it back?

For Stolen Focus, internationally best-selling author Johann Hari went on a three-year journey to uncover the reasons why our teenagers now focus on one task for only 65 seconds, and why office workers on average manage only three minutes. He interviewed the leading experts in the world on attention and learned that everything we think about this subject is wrong.

We think our inability to focus is a personal failing—a flaw in each one of us. It is not. This has been done to all of us by powerful external forces. Our focus has been stolen. Johann discovered there are 12 deep cases of this crisis, all of which have robbed some of our attention. He shows us how in a thrilling journey that ranges from Silicon Valley dissidents, to a favela in Rio where attention vanished, to an office in New Zealand that found a remarkable way to restore our attention.

Crucially, he learned how—as individuals and as a society—we can get our focus back, if we are determined to fight for it.

©2022 Johann Hari (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"Johann Hari writes like a dream. He’s both lyricist and storyteller—but also an indefatigable investigator of one of the world’s greatest problems: the systematic destruction of our attention. Read this book to save your mind." (Susan Cain)

"A really important book.... Everyone should read it." (Philippa Perry)

"A beautifully researched and argued exploration of the breakdown of humankind's ability to pay attention." (Stephen Fry)

An eye opener

This book is a real eye opener, overwhelming at times.
I have had issues with focus and was looking for something to help with that. This book is not a self help book but it really goes deep into the topic. It provides so much information which I really enjoyed. Well done

Essential!!

This is an essential read for the full picture. So clear and so well written

Must read to gain back your life

An incredibly well researched and written book about one of the biggest crisis of our time - losing our attention.

How can we solve climate change without our attention?

We cannot.

And this week is a start on a journey back.

Insightful book

Well researched book that challenges our quick fix medication-first culture. Engaging narration by the author.

Stolen Focus

At first, i thought i would blame solely on phones and internet for the deteriorating of our focus. After reading this, i was enlightened that phones and internet are only part of a much bigger problem. I give it 5 stars as I feel that this book is a compendium of many other well-known non-fiction books that I have read and plan to read.

It’s time to reconnect

I’m guilt of it and I need to make changes.
This audiobook offer just that

Shocking truths and shockingly confrontational

Good reading voice, the author, and very interesting gathering of processes working against our well being, development and growth. Thank you very much, mr Hari!

Profound and important

At last a book on an all-to-important subject that doesn’t linger, harp on the same point over and over or adds “fluff” for something that could be explained in less than a couple of hours.

Johann goes dives deep into the subject of attention and lost focus in the 21st century. Unlike many self-help books out there, he admits that he’s not always walking is talk. That to me is refreshing.

He displays an abundant volume of knowledge on the topic.

He also proves to listeners that he’s done the homework by analyzing the data captured during numerous expert interviews he conducted in an effort to uncover the science behind our focus problems and the human mind.

One thing particularly stuck with me which I’ll paraphrase: “Our economy relies on sleep depriving people to be able to grow.”

I found this book profound, important and relevant to every human living in the internet era.

An excellent perspective on how we lost focus

Excellent book on explaining why we are having so much difficulty in maintaining focus. Johann carefully presents different scientific research on the why (which is the result of different "forces"), with a genuine preoccupation in presenting conflicting views when those are present. Nevertheless, and that's the reason why is a 4 star review (and not a 5 star), is that at the end the "revolutionary" prescription is, in my humble opinion, a little biased, and very much anchored on the idea that we all had very healthy lives 100/50/30 years ago and know we are at the brink of collapse because of technology and capitalism. Other than this bias and excessive simplicity, this is an excellent book with a very, very important message

Amazing book

Alerting info, though if one lives mindfull and attentive life, nothing new said. Every single person should read it.