Visual	Audio
	[Jaron speaking] “So should we go on the swing today? Do you reckon it's still there?” [Child 3 speaking] “Yeah. Might be.”
In December 2025, Australia introduced a minimum age of 16 for anyone wanting to have a social media account. For families across the country, it was the start of a new kind of conversation. This is one family’s story.
	[Jaron speaking] “My name is Jaron Ingram-Baigent. I am a Wiradjuri woman. My family is from Cowra in the central western New South Wales. This is my husband Simon, and we have three children together, Nalani, Clayton, and Malia, and we are the Spences. “The negative ways that we saw social media impacting our kids, probably more anxiety-filled behaviour, almost a resistance to wanting to get off the device. But, if I was going to put it into a nutshell, probably their mental health overall and their overall wellbeing. “And we saw improvements in their wellbeing around those issues the more we talked about this with them.”
	[Jaron speaking] “And remember when you, remember when you went on the swing in a white shirt?” [Child 2 speaking] “Oh.”
	[Jaron speaking] “So when we first heard about the ban, I would say it sparked a bit of a conversation, and we did go through a lot what the pros and what the cons might be. Wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. “We definitely saw the benefits and what the positives would be. But also we understood that there were gonna be some negative or potential negative implications that we'd have to talk the kids through, and that it would be a process.”
	[Simon speaking] “Yes, I was supportive. I do know that less screen time, their behaviour will be better. Less social media means we have to engage with the kids more Which is a good thing, it brings back a better bond to the children."
	[Child 1 speaking] “When I first heard about the social media ban, I was a bit, like, annoyed and scared and worried that I wouldn't be able to keep in contact with, like, most of my friends. But now I've, like, changed to other apps and it's not as hard.”
	[Child 2 speaking] “Since coming off social media... the change has been quite different, but I think it has helped some people but also debuff. Like, it can be harder to communicate, but a lot more better, you know? “I've more time to, like, go outside, you know? To really think about, like, stuff and really focus, you know? I might have, like, work to do, so the ban has, have, like, helped, not just, like, mid-working pull up and just start watching videos or movies, you know?”
	[Simon speaking] “Well, so since the ban, we've noticed that there's more kids at our house. So, kids from the neighbourhood. They're all on their out on mountain bikes, and we'll come home... we'll see bikes sprawled out on the lawn. “It's good to see. It's like the old days. And, yeah, we walk in and it's kind of a good feeling knowing that there's gonna be a heap of kids just here.”
	[Jaron speaking] “Definitely the hardest part of this transition has been managing it. Um, there's still ways that young people can access it without an account, and that has been really tricky for us to try and navigate with the kids. Ultimately, it's gonna need their cooperation and their buy-in and their understanding, and so working through what that means for them is a process. We're still working through that with our kids. “The things that we've done to support them is just to make sure that there's consistency in all of their interests and their activities. They've been dancing with Brolga for a number of years now, so they're deeply committed to their dance and also pursuing their own interests in various ways.”
	[Child 2 speaking] “Well, I love, like, learning new dances, seeing what they mean, meeting new people, teaching, like, other people moves, you know? Like the culture and the depth and the meanings. “Yeah. Yeah, when I go there, I feel like more connected to, like, Mother Nature. By me, like, you know, our ancestors. It just makes me feel like that's the place you go when you wanna, like, you know, feel very connected.”
	[Simon speaking] “So since the ban, we, we got our daughter, who's 14, a gym membership. I'm going with her there. So that's probably my favourite sort of father-daughter activity. Also we got our boy a mountain bike, and, I've been out with him on that, so it's good.”
	[Jaron speaking] “I'm gonna make more of these, like, with the little stringy bits. Are they gonna be big earrings?” [Child 1 speaking] “I'm not sure. I might do one or two more layers.”
	[Jaron speaking] “I think the one thing that I hope that this gives the kids back is just a bit of time. Bit of time to, be kids enjoying their surroundings by looking up a little bit and, you know, they're always gonna be on technology and devices, and I think that's a wonderful thing. “But I also think it's equally, if not more, it is more important to look up and connect to country and community and family. Um, and that's where I see the greatest benefit.”
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