The Battle For Our Kids Attention with Richard Capriola

TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms for our kids today, and especially our teenagers. We are the first generation of parents that are confronted with the battle for our kids’ time, their attention, and even their mental health. My guest today gives us a deep dive look at the impact of these social media platforms and what they are doing to our kids’ lives, their mental health, and how we can be best armed and prepared to guide them as parents. 

My guest today is Richard Capriola. He  spent 11 years working as an addictions counselor for Menninger Clinic in Houston Texas before retiring in 2019. Menninger Clinic is one of the top ten psychiatric hospitals in the United States and specializes in the assessment, stabilization and treatment of adults and adolescents with substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. During his tenure there he worked in the Adolescent Treatment program and the adult Comprehensive Psychiatric Assessment and Stabilization program. Working closely with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and nurses he was responsible for comprehensive assessments and individual and group counseling with patients diagnosed with substance use disorders.

His job with Menninger Clinic was a second career. Prior to joining Menninger, he spent 30 years working for the Illinois State Board of Education where he was a lobbyist, communications and external relations manager and special assistant to the State Superintendent of Education. After retiring from the State of Illinois in 2004 he worked as a mental health crisis counselor in central Illinois until he joined Menninger in 2008.

Now retired, he lives with his wife in Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with family who live in Texas and on both coasts. He has one son, two stepchildren and four grandchildren.

What You’ll Learn

5:09 Interview Begins

8:48 On Social Media Risks

Richard Capriola talks about the downsides even when there are huge upsides like learning and being entertained on diverse social media networks

12:12 Recommendations for Parents on Social Media

Richard Capriola shares some tips and ideas on how you can help your teens.

13:44 How Things have Changed

Examples of how teenagers have changed the way they communicate with each other and the issue of privacy with children and parents.

18:20 Facebook Study

Facebook conducted a study that proves compulsive and addictive behaviors in teenagers related to the use of its app.

31:23 Mayo Clinic Recommendations

Dr. Richard Capriola lists a series of recommendations that the Mayo Clinic gives to parents regarding the use of social networking applications by teenagers. One of the most important is to set a daily use limit and know what your children are doing on these applications. Encourage face-to-face interactions and above all create healthy habits. As parents you should make use of other applications or tools to have control over what they can see and how much time they spend on each network.

Matt Meline’s Links

• Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/instarick1949
• Website-https://helptheaddictedchild.com/

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