A review by carissachristenson
Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

the irony is not lost on me that I started writing this review while I was still reading the book…stopped reading, in fact, to start writing this review. I found this has a lot of good information and nuggets of interesting facts that was really eye opening…

However, I did find the author’s tone to be a bit “boomery” and even patronizing at times. (Yes social media often encourages people to share edited versions of their life and seek validation, but there is often more to it - a sense of connection, or unification that is often missed by Hari or his explanations. He often comes across as a little harsh when criticizing current/younger generations in a way that I think is slightly unfair, and I found this a bit off putting at times.
I really only sensed this in the earlier sections of the book. I did appreciate that he emphasized throughout the rest of the book that we aren’t just getting lazy, and especially that parents aren’t to blame - I think it’s so easy to pass that blame to ourselves, on others, and especially to parents, but that truly isn’t the case. I found this book extremely educational and eye opening, well written, and well researched!