Facebook may have become too ubiquitous for its own good.
A new European Union-funded study has revealed that teenagers want nothing to do with the site partly because their parents know how to use it and have their own accounts.
"What we've learned from working with 16- to 18-year-olds in the UK is that Facebook is not just on the slide, it is basically dead and buried," The Conversation UK reported.
When Mark Zuckerberg's social network was the hot new thing, parents raised concerns about their children using it. But the study shows families are now pushing for kids to continue using Facebook as a way for parents and children to stay connected.
Comprising nine simultaneous 15-month ethnographic studies in eight countries, the study names Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp as the top social networks among young people.
Facebook's downfall shows that functionality doesn't always come out on top, especially among teenagers who don't want their parents watching their every online move.
Even though students in the study recognized that Facebook "is technically better than Twitter or Instagram," they are still forgoing the biggest social network's functionality in favor of the independence they find on Snapchat.
"What appears to be the most seminal moment in a young person's decision to leave Facebook was surely that dreaded day your mum sends you a friend request," The Conversation UK noted. "You just can't be young and free if you know your parents can access your every indiscretion."
Facebook stands as an example of too much of a good thing. Its popularity and longevity are both working against it when it comes to young people. Besides its draw with parents, Facebook just isn't the cool thing anymore.
Founded in 2004, the social network was gradually made available to college students around the country and became open to all users in 2006. Oscar winner "The Social Network" hit theaters in 2010. Those dates probably sound like a long time ago when you're 16.
At least Zuckerberg and his cohorts can take comfort in the fact that one of the places teenagers are flocking to is Instagram, which Facebook wisely purchased for $1 billion in spring 2012.
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