The recently published book, The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt, has received a lot of attention since it was published in March. The New York Times bestseller inspired headlines such as this in the New Yorker: “Jonathan Haidt Wants You to Take Your Kid’s Phone Away.”
Jonathan Haidt would also like you to consider giving your child alternatives to screen time, including participating in activities like CISV. Barbara Becker, a long-time CISV parents, and her 20-year-old son and former CISVer, Drew Bolotsky, were both readers of Jonathan Haidt’s manuscript when it was in a final draft stage.
Barbara recounted that, when reading a key section of the book that discusses what parents can do to address the “great rewiring of childhood” caused by early exposure to gadgets and social media, she was reminded about her kids’ experiences with CISV.
“In addition to many intriguing ideas for young people like ‘Take a gap year after high school, Encourage your teen to find a part-time job, and Rely more on your teen at home,’ Jon had a short section called ‘Consider a high school exchange program,’ ” she said. “We told Jon and his researcher about CISV, which I thought he might really appreciate, especially because the idea for CISV came from the expertise of Dr. Doris Allen, a noted child psychologist. As social psychologists, I think Jon and his colleague were intrigued.”
They were intrigued enough that Haidt added a short mention of CISV in the book. “CISV International, pioneered by the child psychologist Dr. Doris Allen, fosters intercultural friendship through exchanges and other youth programming beginning at age 11. There are CISV chapters in more than 60 countries around the world. ”
Barbara noted that, “I don’t know of any parents who aren’t talking about the harmful effects of addictive time on screens, from social comparison to perfectionism, to attention issues and loneliness.”
Drew and Barbara’s older son Evan participated in countless mini-camps, as well as Village (South Korea and Austria), Interchange (Austria and Portugal), Step-Up (Brazil, Portugal, and Michigan City, IN), Fortnight (Texas), and JC (England).
“My husband Dave and I have watched them gain confidence, curiosity, maturity and a real sense of hopefulness as a result of being involved in CISV,” she said. “When it comes right down to it, it was a wonderful experience for us, as parents, too!”