Sometimes I look up and it s 3 a.m. and I m watching a video of a giraffe eating a steak. And I wonder, How did I get here?
— Owen Lanahan, 15, of Portland. He and other vamping teens stay up late for some quality time with their electronic gadgets, and/or texting one another. The reasons mentioned by the New York Times based on what teens and researchers say: Teens are overscheduled during the day; it s like a version of staying up late to read books (about giraffes eating steaks, perhaps?); and like the rest of us, teenagers find it hard to unplug.
Illustration: Unplug, anyone? (Wes Bausmith/MCT archives)