Stolen Focus

Johann Hari is an extremely readable writer. Coming from a background in journalism, that's not really surprising. I don't always agree with everything he says, but when he claims that the world is suffering from a global crisis of attention, it's hard to argue.

In Stolen Focus, Hari doesn't just blame screens and social media for our inability to focus; poor diet and pollution also play a role, along with general exhaustion and poor sleep. He also points out that it's not just personal weakness that makes us vulnerable to eternal scrolling and constant phone-checking; these technologies are being specifically designed to be addictive. I think Hari is being optimistic in calling for an end to 'surveillance captialism.' There is just too much money tied up in advertising, and though he admits that any solution will rely on government regulation, I honestly can't see that happening either, which is a bit depressing.

Hari also takes a couple of chapters to reflect on the way we are robbing our children of the chance for mind-wandering (my own childhood was basically reading and mind-wandering), by scheduling every minute of activity and removing free play from our education systems. As far as I know, things haven't gone quite so far here in Australia as they have in the US and UK, but we are certainly heading down the same road with a focus on competitive testing and a move away from unsupervised play.

Stolen Focus is a sobering read, but I was relieved to note that I'm already following a lot of Hari's advice. I make a lot of time for reading (books!), I don't spend much time mired in social media, I strive to achieve a 'flow state' while I'm working, I let my mind wander. But as he points out, individual efforts aren't enough to solve this social crisis, in a time when we need more deep thinking and imaginative solutions than ever before. I'm afraid it might be too late to go back.