It may have been invented for students to use . But youngsters appear to be deserting Facebook in droves because it is now so popular with their parents – and grandparents . Almost a third of people aged 16-to-34 have deleted their accounts because they no longer see it as ‘ cool ’ . The trend comes as increasing numbers of older users turn to the social network to stay in touch and share family pictures . Nearly 60 per cent of Britons aged over 55 now have a Facebook account , according to research . Facebook has even started running television adverts to entice the so-called ‘ silver surfers ’ to join . Now a survey of around 2,000 Britons has revealed that it is having the opposite effect on youngsters . ‘ As parents are signing up , their children are logging off to maintain privacy , ’ said Lord Jim Knight , chairman of online lobby group the Tinder Foundation . In the poll , a third of Facebook users are said to have blocked a family member so they can no longer see their account or do not receive automatic updates . The survey did not take account of the number of youngsters who have effectively blocked their family members by refusing to add them as a ‘ Facebook friend ’ in the first place . One in ten people aged 16 to 34 signed up to other platforms so they could remain ‘ under the radar of their parents ’ . But whilst youngsters may be leaving Facebook , they are not giving up on social media altogether . More than half said they had joined Twitter , where only 13 per cent of ‘ silver surfers ’ said they have accounts . Meanwhile , about 40 per cent of youngsters use the picture-sharing website Instagram , according to the study commissioned by Halifax and carried out by Opinium Research . Logging off : Nearly a third of people aged 16-to-34 have deleted their facebook accounts because they no longer see it as ‘ cool ’ Around the same proportion use Snapchat , a social media platform which automatically deletes messages shortly after they are sent . The picture was very different among the over-55s . Just three percent have an Instagram account and even fewer – around one percent – use Snapchat . The way people use these different social platforms is also changing . Around a fifth of those aged 16 to 34 use their smartphones at family dinners , posing a threat to the precious mealtimes that used to be the cornerstone on family life . By comparison , just one percent of silver surfers use their smartphones during a meal with their offspring .
Parents and grandparents flocking to social media site . Almost 60 % of Britons aged over 55 now have Facebook account . Score: 6