Beyond the Screen Panic: How Regional Families Cultivate Connection, Creativity, and Digital Flourishing w. Alex Wharton

In an era marked by heightened anxieties around youth screen time, algorithmic harms, and legislative social media bans, public discourse often frames domestic technology use through a deficit lens. Yet inside the home, media engagement is far more nuanced, relational, and central to the rhythms of everyday family life. Drawing on doctoral research conducted through Western Sydney University’s Institute for Culture and Society, this presentation shares empirical findings from an ethnographic study with eight diverse families across regional New South Wales. Grounded in a three-phase methodology of listening (in-depth family interviews), observing (situated domestic media practices), and responding (collaborative family workshops), the study investigates how regional households navigate the complex tensions between parental mediation, autonomy, and digital inclusion. Findings reveal that rather than existing in isolation, family media practices serve as foundational anchors for daily routines, intergenerational storytelling, collective humour, and collaborative problem-solving. Moving beyond transactional restrictions and device policing, this presentation introduces the concept of digital flourishing: a strengths-based paradigm where media literacy is treated as an essential, lifelong civic and creative capability. Alex shares the co-designed Head, Heart, Hands & Home framework, offering educators, researchers, and community stakeholders practical, creative pathways to support intentional connection, critical discernment, and emotional wellbeing in the digital age.