Nicole Uvieghara is only 18 , but that 's old enough to remember the good old days on Facebook . `` I used to log in to Facebook every day , '' said Uvieghara , a Murrieta , California , native and freshman at Arizona State University . `` Now , I go , like , once a week . On my news feed , I rarely see posts from my friends and I have not posted things on my wall in the past year . '' Her experience is n't unusual . Teens are cooling on Facebook , a trend suggested by recent research and acknowledged , this week by Facebook itself . The shift was confirmed time and time again in e-mail and phone interviews with dozens of teens and their parents in CNN 's reporting of this story . While the social-networking juggernaut continues to chug along among adults , boasting more than 1 billion active users , younger users are flocking to newer , and arguably hipper , networking tools . Sherman Watson of San Francisco said he 's noticed a dip in Facebook use by both his 18-year-old son and the younger employees at the retail store he manages . `` I think his generation , and definitely the younger ones , view Facebook as boorish and -- let 's face it -- something that their parents use , '' Watson wrote in response to a Facebook post seeking thoughts on the issue . `` Funny how history repeats itself in this regard . '' Instead , he said , mobile apps like Facebook-owned Instagram , and Vine , Twitter 's video tool , are where teens increasingly go to share . For the first time this week , Facebook confirmed the trend is real . `` We did see a decrease in ( teenage ) daily users , especially younger teens , '' Facebook Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman said Wednesday during a quarterly earnings call . It was just months ago that Ebersman called the decline of teens using Facebook an `` urban legend , '' saying they were active on more sites , but not cutting back on their Facebook visits . CEO Mark Zuckerberg added that it `` just is n't true '' that Facebook has a teen problem . But even then , there were signs of a slide . In May , a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project included focus groups with teens who said their enthusiasm for Facebook had waned . They cited the increasing presence of adults on the site , as well as stressful `` drama '' among friends . The survey showed use of Twitter among teens jumping from 11 % to 26 % between 2011 and 2012 . Teen Facebook use , on the other hand , remained essentially flat . ( Albeit at a massive 93-94 % ) . Instagram use , which was n't measured in the 2011 survey , was at 11 % in last year 's . Most teens in the focus groups said they kept their Facebook pages , but had migrated to new tools and sites for most of their activity . That sounds about right to Alex Hager , 16 , a high school junior in Darien , Connecticut . He said the rise of new networks -- video-clip app Snapchat and messaging tool KiK are other popular choices -- has met a desire among his peers who would rather communicate directly than broadcast to hundreds of Facebook friends . `` Everybody was Facebook friends with everybody in my grade , regardless of how well they knew each other , '' he said . `` This meant that whenever somebody publicly interacted with somebody else in your grade , you would see it instantly . '' Now he 'll post things like the YouTube videos he and some friends make about his school 's sports teams to the site , but said `` I rarely ever use Facebook to post statuses or photos anymore . '' While Facebook has downplayed the importance of the trend , the site simultaneously appears to be taking steps to address it . Earlier this month , Facebook changed privacy settings for teens , allowing them for the first time to make their profiles public . Teens may now also turn on the site 's `` Follow '' feature , which allows people to view their posts whether the teen has accepted a friend request from them or not . Teens who join the site will still have their settings default to `` Friends Only '' and , if they switch to public , they will get pop-up warnings explaining what having a public profile means . The public nature of Twitter has been appealing , teens say , because they can build bigger followings and interact with people up to and including their favorite celebrities . The same goes for other apps . `` It makes you feel relevant and wanted because of the number of followers a person can have and the likes you can have on your photos , '' Uvieghara said , describing Instagram . She said she does n't think her Facebook use will ever pick back up . Hager , meanwhile , was n't so sure . His thoughts might provide a ray of hope for Facebook . Because , given enough time , the teens who are fleeing Facebook become the adults who still flock to it . `` I hope that my peers continue to use Facebook in the future , '' he said . `` It will be a valuable means of staying in touch as we move on to college and careers . ''
Facebook acknowledges that teen users are becoming less active on the site . Newer social tools like Snapchat , Instagram and Vine are picking up steam instead . Comment: But teens who do n't use Facebook as much do n't close their accounts .