Stolen Focus
Is your ability to focus and pay attention in free fall? You are not alone. The average office worker now focuses on any one task for just three minutes. But it's not your fault. Your attention didn't collapse. It has been stolen. Internationally bestselling author Johann Hari shows twelve deep factors harming our focus. Once we understand them, together, we can take back our minds.
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28recommend
55mentions
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2022–2026years
56% recommend40% neutral4% critical
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What Hacker News says
- You're not alone. You will find some answers "Stolen Focus" by Johann Hari
- Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body - Really cool account of human evolutionary history
Stolen Focus (Johann Hari) - About how we've lost (and can regain) the ability to focus due to technological distraction (currently social media, etc. but hasn't always been)
Chip War - History and geopolitical significance of the semiconductor industry
- You're getting some mild heat in sibling comments here. Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation goes into a lot of detail on this exact point about parental responsibility.
There are others that touch on personal vs. societal responsibility too and the difficulties with parental/personal moderation and change (Stolen Focus by Johann Hari and Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke off the top of my head).
There is an enormous amount of nuance that goes into answering your questions and addressing your assumptions that HN is probably not a great medium for, if you're serious about understanding the answers.
- I would also pair this article with "Stolen Focus" ( a book I am currently reading -- fascinating read ) [0] . I am only 10% in and the book is captivating. Read the book to understand the "whys" of this article .
[0]https://www.amazon.com.au/Stolen-Focus-Attention-Think-Deepl...
- That's a great question! It comes up for me a lot.
I can walk through my local woods and listen very carefully but I don't think I could read a recipe book and pay attention to an audiobook!
So for me and I guess for most people it depends on the intensity of the activity and on the nature of the book. I have gradually found where the balance is for me and I've learned to hit the pause button or rewind 30 seconds.
I also pick different types of books to read and to listen to. I _love_ having an engrossing story as an audiobook. And popular science is a great listen, e.g. I loved the audiobook of Stolen Focus. But with physical books I tend to choose more involved or complex novels (e.g. Deep Wheel Orcadia), poetry, and for non-fiction books that are more specific to my interests (psychotherapy, ceramics).
- This is largely the conclusion drawn in Stolen Focus by Johann Hari (well worth the read). Although he argues not just in the West, but across the world.
