Book review: Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention by Johann Hari

As someone deeply interested in the way our minds work, and who definitely suffers from challenges focusing, I was intrigued by Johann Hari’s Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention. Having heard Hari interviewed on a number of podcasts and experienced firsthand the rise of tech-driven distractions and productivity pressures, I was curious to see how Hari would approach these topics, and the result was both illuminating and a little unsettling.

I went into the book expecting a deep dive into personal attention issues — things like procrastination or phone addiction. Instead, what Hari delivers is a much broader, systemic critique. He suggests that it’s not just us, as individuals, who are losing our ability to focus; it’s the whole of society. In short, it’s not your fault — you’re up against a highly sophisticated attention-hijacking machine.

What makes Stolen Focus stand out are the stories and interviews Hari uses to flesh out his argument. Whether it’s about how social media algorithms are designed to manipulate your attention or how the modern workplace incentivizes shallow, fragmented work, it all ties back to the same point: our attention spans are shrinking, and it’s deliberate.

One of the most powerful sections explores the myth of multitasking. Hari debunks the idea that switching between tasks improves productivity, highlighting research that shows how it wrecks our ability to focus deeply on anything. This resonated with me, especially when thinking about the constant barrage of emails and notifications most of us deal with daily.

It’s not just about tech, either. Hari discusses how lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and even environmental factors like pollution can affect our brain function and focus. It’s easy to overlook these things when you’re busy trying to keep up with life, but they are critical to the bigger picture.

As a father of two girls — one who uses her device a lot and the other who doesn’t — Hari’s chapters on children and the impact of screens struck a chord. He talks about how screen time affects kids’ development, making it harder for them to engage in deep, imaginative play. I’ve noticed this firsthand. Hari makes a compelling case for rethinking how we allow devices to shape our children’s attention spans — especially when big tech designs them to be addictive.

In the end, Hari offers some hope. While he acknowledges that individual solutions like meditating can help, his main message is that we need systemic change. Whether it’s tech companies changing their business models or a complete rethink of how we structure education and work, it’s clear that saving our attention is a collective task.

Hari does offer some practical solutions to improving your own fragmented focus, including meditation and mindfulness, undertaking a digital detox (but he also explains that that has some limited long-term behaviour benefits), and using tools like a K-safe to lock your tech away or the Freedom app to keep your laptop offline. These are both great practical ways to limit exposure. He also suggests starting very simply by turning off all notifications on your phone!

For anyone concerned about their inability to concentrate or feeling like they’re constantly chasing the next distraction, this book is well worth your time. You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of why our focus has been “stolen” — and more importantly, what we can do to reclaim it.