9 surprising things we learned about how Millennials are using technology

Fusion’s Massive Millennial Poll surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 18 to 34, with a general population sample and an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points. The interviews were conducted via telephone from Jan. 6 to Jan. 11. The full poll results and an explanation of methodology can be found here.

At the beginning of the year, Fusion commissioned a survey to get a sense of what the Millennial generation thinks about everything from politics to dating. These are some of the technology-related survey results that surprised us.

1. Forget the talk of Facebook being just for olds.

It’s the app Millennials are most likely to check first when they turn on their smartphones.

A quarter of Millennial ladies and 17% of Millennial men named Facebook as the app their thumb seeks out first. E-mail came in as a close second overall, though Instagram won out with those who were between 18-24 and with black Millennials.

2. Your Millennial bae does not want you to end the relationship via text message.

Only 5% of people who haven’t actually broken up with someone over text think it’s okay to break up with someone over text.

3. You don’t have to go all the way to “have sext.”

32% of Millennials report that they’ve sexted but only 22% report sending someone a nude photo. That’s 10% who just know how to use creatively.

4. 15% of Millennials think only IRL infidelity counts.

Do online flirtations or relationships count as cheating? 15% say no. 82% say yes.

5. Millennials care enough about privacy to delete an app for violating it.

38% report they stopped using an app for a privacy reason.

6. What sharing economy? Millennials still like normal hotels.

When Millennials were asked whether they had ever stayed in an Airbnb, the answer was basically “no.”

When asked whether they had ever put their own place up for rent on Airbnb, the answer was a resounding “hell no.”

7. Millennials aren’t over car ownership yet.

When asked how they’d get to the airport, 66% responded “my car.” But the question led to another interesting finding: Millennials prefer Lyft to Uber. 7% said they’d call a Lyft to catch a plane compared to 2% who would call an Uber.

Lyft was especially popular with people between 25 and 29 and millennials living on the West Coast.

8. Most Millennials on the use of emoji at work.

57% say emoji is inappropriate in the workplace. 8% of Millennials don’t know if it’s appropriate (or don’t know what emoji are).