Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention--And How to Think Deeply Again

Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again is a 2022 book by Swiss-British author Johann Hari. In this work, Hari investigates factors that help and hinder concentration and attention, arguing that people are steadily losing their ability to focus. Hari asserts that there are 12 main reasons behind this major societal change; the book is dedicated to exploring these factors. Stolen Focus also includes anecdotes from Hari’s own life as he struggles to find the right balance between using technology, protecting his attention span, and caring for his own mental and physical health to preserve his focus.

This study guide refers to the Kindle edition of this book.

Plot Summary

In his introduction, Hari reveals his chagrin at his reliance on his own devices and his inability to concentrate as well as he used to. Observing his godson’s similar dependence on his phone prompted Hari to wonder how modern technology has changed how people think and behave, especially in terms of their ability to focus. Hari contends that diminishing attention spans are a significant crisis that has individual and societal consequences, ranging from feelings of frustration and purposelessness to an inability to collaborate and solve pressing problems. To address his own attention issues and tend to his mental health, Hari took a three-month “digital detox,” during which he could not use the internet at all.

In Chapter 1, Hari reflects on how difficult digital detox is. Time seems to pass more slowly without his devices, but he embraces the chance to connect with strangers in person and read books and the newspaper like he used to. His lack of screen time helps him feel relaxed and improves his sleep. Research has found that humans are actually incapable of multitasking; when people try to simultaneously complete tasks, they are merely rapidly switching their attention. This is detrimental to the quality of one’s concentration, which researchers call the “switch cost effect” (38). Hari argues that because the pace of modern life is so fast and includes so much stimulation, people are multitasking too much and are becoming inattentive and intellectually exhausted.

In his second chapter, Hari admits that by the third week of his digital detox he was very distressed without his phone. He was inspired by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s research on attention. To learn what makes people attentive and committed to their task, Csikszentmihalyi studied artists. Most of them were generally unmotivated by validation or money, but made art to experience the process of creating. They were also capable of intense focus, which Csikszentmihalyi called a “flow state” (55). Csikszentmihalyi concluded that most people experience flow by concentrating on something difficult with a meaningful and specific goal. Hari contrasts “flow” with the “fragmented” attention that most people now experience in their daily lives (62).

Chapter 4 points out that sleep deprivation is highly detrimental to people’s ability to focus. During his digital detox, he enjoyed better sleep than at any other time in his adult life. Multiple studies have demonstrated that sleep-deprived people have much worse concentration than well-rested people. Sleep research has shown that during sleep, new knowledge is transferred from short-term to long-term memory, as spinal fluid rinses the brain of toxic proteins. Hari argues that the stress, indoor lighting, and the stimulating blue light of digital devices have been catastrophic for people’s sleep, and therefore for their concentration as well.

Chapter 4 contends that people’s diminishing attention spans are making them less able and motivated to read long, complex novels for pleasure. Several studies show that Americans are spending less time reading fiction as a hobby. Anne Mangen, a Norwegian professor of literacy, has proven that frequently reading on screens causes people to skim over information, taking a toll on people’s “cognitive patience” (82) and the ability to become absorbed in a novel. Hari laments the decline of fiction reading for two reasons: It is one of the most common flow states in which people can enjoy deep concentration, and it is a proven tool for increasing imagination and empathy.

Chapter 5 argues that too much stimulation prevents people from experiencing the useful aspects of daydreaming. When people allow their minds to wander, they make new connections and come up with creative insights or ideas. Some researchers maintain that modern life has stifled this ability by rapidly redirecting people’s attention to different distractions and tasks. During Hari’s detox, it felt relaxing and indulgent to allow himself to daydream, which helped his creativity and mental health. At the end of his digital detox, he was determined to maintain strict boundaries around the use of his phone and computer, but after several months fell back into old patterns of overuse.

Chapter 6 is about the addictive aspect of tech design, which sucks up users’ free time. Hari interviews former Google designer Tristan Harris, one of the creators of the 2020 film The Social Dilemma, about the potential dangers of social media. Tech designers learn how to exploit psychological weaknesses to ensure compulsive user engagement. Harris considers this design objective unethical and lobbies Big Tech to prioritize user goals and mental health over ad revenue. Aza Raskin, the inventor of the infinite scroll, has also come to regret his contribution to making the internet more addictive. Harris and Raskin’s dissent prompted other tech professionals to speak out against the intentional addictiveness of social media sites.

Chapter 7 focuses on the intrusive methods that social media sites use to profit from users. These sites collect user data and sell it to advertisers so they can better target users with relevant ads; over time algorithms make very accurate predictions about user preferences and behavior. Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff calls this new form of advertising “surveillance capitalism” (127). Because social media profits are dependent on user time, the sites “are designed to be maximally distracting. They need to distract us to make more money” (127). Hari also blames social media for spreading negativity and falsehoods. Studies have demonstrated that fake news proliferates faster than real news on Facebook and Twitter—these sites’ algorithms prioritize “outraging material” (134) since people spend more time engaging with negative news stories.

Chapter 8 proposes one solution: individual responsibility. Tech designer Nir Eyal recommends that people should use self-discipline to limit their screen time by planning their day, turning off notifications, and identifying the triggers that prompt them to needlessly check their devices. Hari sees some value in this approach and has successfully implemented some of Eyal’s recommendations. However, Hari argues that the focus on individual responsibility helps Big Tech evade being held accountable for intentionally creating addictive algorithms. The approach Eyal advocates is “cruel optimism” (149)—it sounds hopeful, but fails because it does not address the whole problem.

Chapter 9 explores other solutions. These include laws banning surveillance capitalism, sites adopting subscription business models, or governments turning social media sites into public utilities. Other potential changes include reintroducing finite scroll, bundling notifications, and turning off recommendations that lead to “polarizing” and “radicalizing” content (159). It is unlikely that Big Tech will voluntarily make these changes on its own: Even when an internal investigation at Facebook revealed its role in promoting radical ideologies, the company ignored their own staff’s recommendations. Nevertheless, Hari argues that while reforming Big Tech is daunting, it is possible and necessary.

Chapter 10 examines stress and trauma’s role in diminishing people’s attention spans. Former Surgeon General of California Nadine Burke Harris’s research on children connects childhood trauma to an inability to focus. People living in stressful circumstances employ constant vigilance for possible danger, which makes them struggle to focus on other information. Harris concluded that people need to feel safe to properly pay attention. Hari expands on this idea by evaluating the different stressors that became more prominent in the 1990s: an increase in financial pressures, a rise in sleep deprivation, and a weakening middle class. These anxieties may have made the population more prone to developing an addictive relationship with technology.

Chapter 11 explains how some people and companies “reverse the surge of speed and exhaustion” that fuels inattention (185). When British businessman Andrew Barnes instituted a four-day week, he noticed positive changes in employee focus and productivity. Hari references numerous similar workplace experiments at companies like Kellogg’s, Toyota, and Microsoft, all of which found that decreasing work hours led to an increase in overall productivity: “All this suggests that when people work less, their focus significantly improves” (189). This conclusion is in direct conflict with the broad cultural idea that striving for success means working longer hours. Collective action will likely be needed to normalize four-day workweeks.

Chapter 12 considers how poor nutrition and pollution contribute to attention deficits. Several studies have established that food additives, dyes, and preservatives lead to decreased attention in children. When a European study proved that children who routinely drank common food additives were much more hyperactive than those who did not, Europe banned these substances, but the US has failed to act on this research. Nutritionist Dale Pinnock notes that populations with the lowest rates of dementia and ADHD have very varied diets, but their commonality is that they do not eat processed foods and additives: “That’s the magic bullet—just go back to whole foods” (201). Hari criticizes food corporations for prioritizing profits over health.

Chapter 13 discusses the significant rise in ADHD diagnoses. At the time of writing, 13% of all adolescents in the US have the diagnosis, with many being medicated to manage their symptoms. The causes and best treatments for ADHD have divided the scientific community. Some researchers are convinced that ADHD is a largely genetic and biological disorder that can be effectively managed with medication, while others point to evidence that preventable environmental factors are the cause of most ADHD cases. Several studies found that childhood trauma and the levels of stress and chaos in a child’s environment were better predictors for ADHD diagnoses than genetics. While medication such as Ritalin does improve focus, it has inherent risks, including stunted growth, potential heart issues, and unknown long-term effects. Hari concludes that while genetics clearly play a role in the development of ADHD, environmental factors are a much bigger issue. He argues that efforts should be made to address poor diet and sleep, air pollution, stress, and trauma, all of which contribute to children developing ADHD.

Hari’s final chapter argues that the reduction of unstructured, outdoor social play in Western society has harmed children’s ability to pay attention. Anecdotal and statistical evidence from teachers, activists, and child psychologists reveals that many children now live under a kind of “house arrest” (245), not allowed to leave their homes or play with other children unsupervised. The consequences include inadequate exercise, reduction in imagination and creativity, and diminished joy and social bonds. Modern school systems also micromanage students, leaving little time for free play or inquiry-based learning. Hari advocates for play-based educational models and argues that mainstream schools should limit stressors like homework and tests and allow their students more time to play and think freely.

In his conclusion, Hari reveals how his investigation into attention issues has changed his own life. He has used several methods to help heal his focus: locking his phone in a timed safe every day, restricting his computer’s ability to access certain sites, not shaming himself when he is distracted, and trying to access a flow state based on what is meaningful to him. He also takes months-long breaks from social media, allows his mind to wander on long walks, and tries to sleep eight hours a night. Hari insists that it is crucial for people to act collectively to begin to heal attention issues and hopes that a movement galvanizes people, governments, and corporations to ban “surveillance capitalism,” introduce a four-day workweek, and allow kids to play more freely at home and school.

Hari identifies a final cause of attention issues:

“[The] need for economic growth seemed to be the underlying force that was driving so many of the causes of poor attention that I had learned about—our increasing stress, our swelling work hours, our more invasive technologies, our lack of sleep, our bad diets” (279).

Instead, one should adopt anthropologist Jason Hickel’s concept of a “steady-state economy” (279), which prioritizes quality of life over growth. Hari urges readers to preserve their attention and to act collectively for this cause.