Surely this should have been expected the moment the mothers, fathers and grandparents started joining facebook. Teenagers generally like to keep to themselves and stay with their peers…

According to the semi-annual Taking Stock with Teens; Twitter has overtaken Facebook as the most important social media network.

According to Business Insider;

Twitter is the new king of teens, with 26% naming it as their “most important” social site. Only 23% said Facebook was most important, down from a high of 42%.

But Twitter should not become complacent, the report suggests. That’s because Instagram has rocketed in popularity with teens. 23% said Facebook-owned Instagram was their No.1 choice, up from 12% a year ago.

The maneuvering suggests Facebook was right to acquire Instagram as a backstop against losing younger users to competing, simpler networks.

The reports are a contrast, but not a contradiction to, Facebook’s own statements on teen users. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has twice spoken publicly recently about whether teens are abandoning Facebook. In September, Zuckerberg said “coolness is done for us.” Previously, on his Q2 earnings call, Zuckerberg said that Facebook’s own research shows that teens are not abandoning the site.

Facebook has, frustratingly, declined to share that research — even though investors would salivate over it.