With the number of Georgians doing without power at 50,000 and growing, tens of thousands of teens, who consume more than 7 hours a day of social media, video games and music, could be unplugged, maybe for a first time in their short lifetimes.
Torn abruptly from their lifelines to Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, will metro teens stare slack-jawed at dead screens or suddenly develop an interest in macrame?
I suspect it won’t be a pleasant landing for them or their parents. Kids could go from unplugged to unglued if the power outages persist for hours or days.
The average young American now spends nearly every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic gadgets, according to a study of 8- to 18-year-olds by the Kaiser Family Foundation. They don’t use social media; they live it.
The current child count in my house is three: a 22-year-old who produces music electronically (and loudly) and 15-year-old twins who manage their homework, social lives and sports fixations via their laptops.
If our power fails, my older son will simply convert to acoustic guitar or turn his two-hour daily drum sessions into all-day marathons. (Did I mention how loud my house is?)
But once my younger kids exhaust sledding and snowball fights — provided we get enough snow — they’ll accost me in 30-minute intervals with, “When is the power coming back on?”
“I don’t have a teen at home anymore, but I know this from experience: They will find ways to entertain themselves, for a bored teenager will surely die without entertainment,” said Athens writer Myra Blackmon. “Several of my friends have plans for their kids to clean out drawers, closets and desks. If you offer them that diversion, they’ll grab a flashlight and read a book.”
I put the question of coping with unplugged teens to the online universe, which could go silent tomorrow, at least in Atlanta, once smart phones and computers power down.
“I suspect they will be somewhat like the adults, which means they will go outside their house and realize that real people live in the neighborhood. There may even be face-to-face conversations,” said Phil Lunney of Roswell.
Some parents advise planned diversions, such as buying Valentine cards for children to inscribe and mail to Grandma in Miami. Other resourceful parents stocked up on brownie mixes that their teens can whip up, provided their kitchens have gas ovens.
Of course, teens won’t be the only ones in withdrawal or panic. Many adults, including me, are going to find working at home a lot less convenient in the dark. My son notes that he can turn in a handwritten essay on sole proprietorships to his freshman class economics teacher.
“But,” he said, “your editors can’t do much with a story written on loose leaf paper.”
