Stolen Focus
Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again
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Stolen Focus
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Narrated by:
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Johann Hari
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Written by:
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Johann Hari
About this listen
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.
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- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 844
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 742
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 740
From the New York Times best-selling author of Chasing the Scream, a radically new way of thinking about depression and anxiety. What really causes depression and anxiety - and how can we really solve them?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Much needed new perspective
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-06-23
Written by: Johann Hari
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Magic Pill
- The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs
- Written by: Johann Hari
- Narrated by: Johann Hari
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Story5 out of 5 stars 10
In January 2023, bestselling author Johann Hari started to inject himself once a week with Ozempic, the diabetes drug that produces significant weight loss. He wasn’t alone—credible predictions suggest that in two years, a quarter of the U.S. population will be taking this class of drug. Proponents say that this is a biological solution to a biological problem. While 95 percent of diets fail, the average person taking one of the new drugs will lose a quarter of their body weight in six months, and keep it off for as long as they take it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Eye opening and informative - highly recommend
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Written by: Johann Hari
-
Chasing the Scream
- Written by: Johann Hari
- Narrated by: Johann Hari
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
One of Johann Hari’s earliest memories is of trying to wake up one of his relatives and not being able to. As he grew older, he realized he had addiction in his family. Confused, not knowing what to do, he set out and traveled over 30,000 miles over three years to discover what really causes addiction - and what really solves it.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Breathless, but critical read
- By Amazon Customer on 2023-09-02
Written by: Johann Hari
-
The Shallows
- What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
- Written by: Nicholas Carr
- Narrated by: Richard Powers
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
Weaving insights from philosophy, neuroscience, and history into a rich narrative, The Shallows explains how the internet is rerouting our neural pathways, replacing the subtle mind of the book reader with the distracted mind of the screen watcher. A gripping story of human transformation played out against a backdrop of technological upheaval, The Shallows will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Didn't need to be a book
- By Steve on 2020-09-14
Written by: Nicholas Carr
-
The Anxious Generation
- How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
- Written by: Jonathan Haidt
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt, Jonathan Haidt
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
There is no bigger public health story now than the collapse in youth mental health. The numbers are terrifying and dominate our headlines. There has been much debate over how we got here, and what to do next, and bestselling author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt is at the white-hot center of that discourse. Haidt has spent his career speaking wisdom and truth into the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the perfect storm contributing to a public health emergency for Gen Z.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Reshaped My Mindset
- By Dustin Irvine on 2024-05-18
Written by: Jonathan Haidt
-
Deep Work
- Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
- Written by: Cal Newport
- Narrated by: Jeff Bottoms
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,172
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 942
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 929
Master one of our economy’s most rare skills and achieve groundbreaking results with this “exciting” audiobook (Daniel H. Pink) from an “exceptional” author (New York Times Book Review). Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep Work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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So good. An essential read.
- By Bradly Helm on 2018-08-02
Written by: Cal Newport
What the critics say
“[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
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What listeners say about Stolen Focus
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JakesPlace
- 2022-03-11
Stolen Focus
This book was a real eye-opener for me. All of it made sense of all the distractions were faced with each and every day of our lives.
Highly recommend this!!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- david
- 2022-02-04
Important Read
A call to arms for what seems to be the most pivotal crisis of the 21st century.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Adam Cumas
- 2022-11-30
great book overall
Game changer. Your attention is not something you should take for granted, follow what is meaningful to you in life
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2023-04-03
Thought provoking and great stories
This is my first audio book and I think an excellent choice to start with.
I understand the value of stories to involve the reader/listener and they were, of course, relevant to the points of which the author laid out.
There are a number of valuable evidence driven features that I can take from this book and apply to my own personal development.
He helped me understand many aspects, socially, of my personal life and that these struggles are more then just “me”.
I am forever grateful for this book and the learnings from Johann’s research. Thank you!
Brenda
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. Daniel
- 2022-02-25
Brilliant and timely
I’ve been following these themes for a while now, so wasn’t sure if I would learn much or if this book would hold my attention. But it explored the issues with incredible and candid depth, I learned a lot and was also pulled in by Johann’s writing style. Audiobook is brilliantly read too. I recommend this book to everyone, but especially parents.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gal
- 2022-09-26
Everyone needs to read this and take action
The science of back to basics. this may just be a lot of really good reminders to a lot of people but still worth the read right to the end. Made me delete instagram.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Catherine
- 2023-09-01
Thank you
Engrossing! Listened to all in 3 days. Mind- blowing and Inspiring. Lets take care of eachother by sharing this.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamie Charles
- 2022-02-26
For Your Health - Read This Book
February 2022 | 4/5
Like much of Johann's work this is part investigative journalism, part memoir, part self guide - and like previous titles, it arrives a little late to the party, but well researched, and very easy to read.
The first half of the book was forbeveryone. We learned how technologies have been designed to steal our attention, why we allow them to do it and what we can do to take our focus back.
The second half of the book had a different flavour - Johann was spending more time on lost focus and how to recover it for those with ADD/ADHD.
I really enjoyed the sections on letting the mind wander, and allowing children an opportunity for unsupervised play.
The discussion around nutrition and pollution felt the weakest - not an area of expertise, and I think he could have briefly touched on them while referring the reader to stronger content in the area.
This is a fantastic read, and I have several tools I can use to help regain some of my own lost focus.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mry
- 2022-03-20
Insightful
I found this book very well written (and read).
I also appreciate the ideas to stand up against this terrible problem that affects young and old.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Rick
- 2023-02-11
Insightful but sometimes cursory
Made me reflect. Pleasant to listen to the author himself. Overall pretty good but author maybe oversteps his reporting boundaries in talking about nutrition (in cursory fashion).
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