They should 'hang around', chewing the fat with their friends for some of the time. It is a valuable activity for a young person [or anyone else, for that matter] to socialise with one's contemporaries and discuss and natter about topics both grave and gay. But I agree with Eliza it is a terrible waste doing only that. I recall, many years ago, my sister being cross with my then teenage [now 60+!] nephew for spending a whole afternoon in a coffee bar with friends, & appealing to me [then a senior teacher] to support her; but climbing down when I pointed out the manifold youth group & sporting activities he was involved in most of his time, and how important social and intellectual, and even trivial, intercourse with his peer group was also.

~M~