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Stolen Focus
- Why You Can't Pay Attention
- Narrated by: Johann Hari
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
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Stolen Focus
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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.
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)
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
- Chrystal Meinhardt
- 24-01-2022
Thought provoking
As a mother I found the free play and education stuff terrifying. I feel I've robbed my kids of a childhood, but I'm still too fearful to let them out alone. A few sleepless nights coming my way as I meditate on what good parenting looks like in today's society! I've also got a lot to think about in relation to my career as a teacher. A tough but necessary read.
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7 people found this helpful
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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
- Jennifer
- 23-01-2022
Stolen focus
This book is a must read for everyone. It is informing and empowering.
Knowledge is power for change. So important!
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3 people found this helpful
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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
- Matthew J Norton
- 16-02-2022
Brilliantly researched book by Johann.
An absolute must read or listen. It’s an incredibly informative and well researched look at a highly complex problem. There is so much to be taken away from its learnings. Johann has a great voice and delivers it as a very easy listen. Recommending it to everyone I talk to.
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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
- Alex
- 05-02-2022
Extremely well researched and thought-provoking
An excellent, well-researched and extremely compelling story. Expertly crafted and well researched narrative that walks between varied factors influencing the lack of focus we may feel and why that could be. It gives answers to questions I wasn’t sure yet how to formulate. Going to be immediately recommending this one to my friends who are all withdrawing from social media for similar reasons.
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 04-03-2022
A must listen 🌟
What an excellent book. It was incredibly captivating and thought provoking. I had several moments where I pressed the rewind button to hear something again, purely because it was so personally profound that I needed to hear it twice. This book explained so much of my behaviour as a parent, the ‘why’ of how I limit my children’s freedom, and much about my own self limiting behaviour that until now, I knew about but hadn’t questioned.
I believe that everyone should read or listen to Stolen Focus.
10/10
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 15-02-2022
great read
nobody in their right mind would disagree that we are all having trouble focusing. I thought this book would be a quick fix for boosting my focus. how wrong I was. rather than just do this, that and some other hack, the author goes into all the ways we are losing our focus. most books take forever to get to the point. this doesn't. so much covered I will listen again (I have the audio book).
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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
- Paul
- 20-02-2022
One of the most important books of the century.
A most informative book, that everyone needs to listen to. A large percentage of the population are wondering why life has become a greater struggle than it was. Johann explores the reasons why people are so distracted. I'm going to listen to it a few more times so I can hope to educate myself and others on his findings.
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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
- Kodie
- 02-03-2022
A truely enlightening and frightening listen.
I'm a big fan of Johann's previous works and this, I believe, could be his most important. As an avid tech user I've always spruked the ability for technology to help us do more in less time. Over the past few years I've found myself feeling like something was wrong but I couldn't put my finger on it. Johann provides a clear view of why our society really is struggling to focus and why, at its heart, is driven by our economic model of infinite growth capitalism. Since reading the book I find myself wondering not only what I've sacrificed in this screen 'crack' craze, but also how we as people work towards regaining our focus.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 27-03-2022
eye opening
Extremely well researched and written. Audiobook easy to listen to. I now take regular social media breaks and incorporate slow practice into my week. If you listen to the research in this book, there is a lot to take away. I highly recommend this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-03-2022
Spectacular
Essential listening from an author who truly cares about our autonomy as individuals in the modern technological age. Johann’s voice and ability to tell captivating stories elevates this book even further. Must listen!
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