I just discovered this argument and I find it fascinating. I think there's points to be made on both sides, but I do find myself siding a little more with Nir. Maybe because we're both Jewish, but in the religion, we are taught a lot of agency and responsibility. Every year we have a holiday that's basically "What did YOU do wrong and how are you going to be better next year?" .. I also want to have hope because I believe we aren't going to regulate this stuff anytime soon, at least not for adults.
I also find it a little annoying how Hari chose to share the interview. While it's on his website, it's hidden behind an HTML button. You can not speed up or move around in the interview. If you don't have 2.5 hours to listen to it in one sitting, too bad. I do wish he would have uploaded it elsewhere so it could be dissected by more people.
HI, I think you misrepresent Hari's position. It isn't an either/or between personal responsibility and manipulative capitalism. He acknowledges the value of all of Eyal's suggestions and also points out there are structural reasons why the rise of 'surveilance capitalism', to give one example, is a pernicious outside force mostly beyond our personal control.
I have to agree with the previous poster that you are obviously biased towards Eyal but to claim Hari is trying to 'blame' his doom scrolling on 'a whole army the most intelligent people on the planet' is not accurate. His chapter on the interview in 'Stolen Focus' on the interview is very clear on the nuance of his points.
I just discovered this argument and I find it fascinating. I think there's points to be made on both sides, but I do find myself siding a little more with Nir. Maybe because we're both Jewish, but in the religion, we are taught a lot of agency and responsibility. Every year we have a holiday that's basically "What did YOU do wrong and how are you going to be better next year?" .. I also want to have hope because I believe we aren't going to regulate this stuff anytime soon, at least not for adults.
I also find it a little annoying how Hari chose to share the interview. While it's on his website, it's hidden behind an HTML button. You can not speed up or move around in the interview. If you don't have 2.5 hours to listen to it in one sitting, too bad. I do wish he would have uploaded it elsewhere so it could be dissected by more people.
I think I downloaded it and played it on my desktop.
Here is the direct link:
https://stolenfocusbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Nir-Eyal-website.mp3
HI, I think you misrepresent Hari's position. It isn't an either/or between personal responsibility and manipulative capitalism. He acknowledges the value of all of Eyal's suggestions and also points out there are structural reasons why the rise of 'surveilance capitalism', to give one example, is a pernicious outside force mostly beyond our personal control.
I have to agree with the previous poster that you are obviously biased towards Eyal but to claim Hari is trying to 'blame' his doom scrolling on 'a whole army the most intelligent people on the planet' is not accurate. His chapter on the interview in 'Stolen Focus' on the interview is very clear on the nuance of his points.
Hey Phil, Did you listen to my podcast version or the full audio version? I found that more revealing than the book.
https://neilscott.substack.com/p/reacting-to-nir-eyal-vs-johann-hari
The article is biased towards Eyal.
Did you listen to the interview?