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Harsh Patolia | Hidden Valley High School

Gatzke has preferred engaging in activities that have fostered her creativity since she was little, she said, including crafts.

Late at night, Gabrielle Gatzke, a junior at Hidden Valley High School, sits at her kitchen table looking with a blank stare at the chemistry problems in front of her. She decides to call her friend Karen for help.

She just as easily could have texted her, or messaged her on Facebook, or gone to Gmail.

However, Gatzke doesn't have Internet access at home, or a cellphone or a Facebook account.

"You lose so many skills when you have to rely on such a big source," Gatzke said. "It makes you lose your sense of creativity."

Gatzke does not fit in the normal stereotype of a tech-savvy teen who sits behind an illuminated screen of some kind.

According to a Pew Research Center study, 95 percent of all teens of ages 12 to 17 are online. And 80 percent of those teenagers use social media sites.

As the Christmas season starts up, items such as new cellphones or cameras usually find themselves near the top of a typical teenager's list to Santa.

What about an old-fashioned spinning wheel on that list?

Gatzke would ask for that instead, if it weren't for the fact that she already had one.

"I can knit, crochet and sew. I am definitely old-fashioned. I feel like I should have been born 100 years ago, maybe even 200," she said.

A recent study published by the Internet security company AVG looked at how children's interactions with technology have changed.

The study found that 14 percent of kids ages 4 and 5 could tie their shoes, while 21 percent could play or operate at least one application on a smartphone.

Kids' focuses are shifting from learning basic life skills to becoming technology literate, the study shows.

Gatzke has preferred engaging in activities that have fostered her creativity since she was little, she said.

She and her siblings would play outside or do crafts. They would always go to museums and the zoo, "constantly learning about stuff," she said.

Gatzke said that some of the modern conveniences such as having a cellphone would be nice -- but only to call people, not text.

And social media?

"I don't feel left out of Facebook," she said. "Facebook is impersonal and self-absorbed because people are always putting up pictures of themselves and setting their status to make themselves look good. It's all about how many friends you have, but how many personal relationships do you really have?"

Gatzke's family is by no means an abnormal one. Unlike most American families in this day and age, they just aren't that preoccupied with gadgets.

Talking with people face-to-face is the top priority for Gatzke when it comes to social interaction.

"I like ... to hear them laugh instead of just typing 'ha ha,'" she said. She added that she writes letters to avoid being impersonal online.

But spread of technology will encroach on even her life.

All Roanoke County students monitor their grades, find out lesson plans and download assignments on an online site called Blackboard. And Internet access is a must for many school assignments.

"It can be inconvenient at times if I have a project or something for school that requires the Internet, but I'm good at managing my time wisely and knowing when I'll have access to Internet to work on a project, " Gatzke said.

Overall, not having access to some modern conveniences doesn't have a big effect on Gatzke.

"Some of them [friends] pressure me to get a Facebook, but they all respect my decision not to have one," she said.

Gatzke does plan to get a cellphone when she goes to college. She still claims that she will not have a Facebook page.