707: Johann Hari | Why You Can't Pay Attention—And What to Do About It

Johann Hari (@johannhari101) is a New York Times best-selling author and top-rated TED speaker. His latest book is Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—And How to Think Deeply Again.

What We Discuss with Johann Hari: It's not just your imagination: attention spans are shortening, and finding the mental state that fosters deep thinking is increasingly elusive. It's not just kids: college-age people switch tasks, on average, every 65 seconds. Adults? Every three minutes. We've become accustomed to interrupting ourselves when external distractions aren't there to do it for us. It's not your fault: your inability to focus isn't a personal failure; your focus has been stolen from you by powerful external forces that have left all of us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. It's not just the internet and technology: our lack of focus has actually been happening for generations. Discover what Johann learned about reclaiming this focus—as individuals, and as a society—on a trip that took him around the world. And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/707

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Miss the conversation we had with Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist, the primary subject of the acclaimed Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, co-founder of The Center for Humane Technology, and co-host of the podcast Your Undivided Attention? Catch up with episode 533: Tristan Harris | Reclaiming Our Future with Humane Technology here!

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