Johann Hari | Why You Can't Pay Attention—And What to Do About It (The Jordan Harbinger Show, Ep. 707)
Hari opens this interview with an anecdote about his teenage godson, whose near-constant device use he uses to illustrate what he sees as a generational shift in attention rather than an individual failing. Over the conversation he covers research he cites tying reduced sleep in children to weaker focus, describes social platforms as tuned to amplify outrage because it holds attention longer, and argues that chronic interruption measurably impairs concentration and problem-solving in the short term. As in his other Stolen Focus press, he pairs individual strategies — protecting sleep, limiting task-switching — with calls for workplace and platform-level change. TechKids Foundation includes this interview for its extended, kid-specific opening example and its sleep-and-attention discussion.
Hari cites research suggesting children today sleep roughly 85 minutes less per night, on average, than a century ago — a figure he uses to link reduced sleep to reduced attention, not as a standalone diagnosis.
Hari, Johann, interviewed by Jordan Harbinger. "Why You Can't Pay Attention—And What to Do About It." The Jordan Harbinger Show, episode 707, August 3, 2022.