Millennials would rather delete their main calling app than Snapchat

Millennials hate calling on the phone so much that they’d rather delete their main phone app altogether than lose Snapchat.

That’s according to a new study from LivePerson, which surveyed 3,000 US smartphone users ages 18 to 65.

Some of the results weren’t very shocking – most people prefer texting to calling – but somewhat surprising is the demise of the traditional “Phone” app, even among older generations.

For those ages 35 to 64, the main phone app was the fifth-most-commonly used app, after text messaging, email, Facebook, and Facebook Messenger.

But for 18- to 24-year-olds, the phone app lost out to a more modern competitor: Snapchat. If they had to choose only one app to keep on their phone, 35% of respondents would choose text, 17% would choose Snapchat, and only 14% would choose the phone. Nine percent chose Pokémon Go.

This might be because of a cultural shift in how young people view talking on the phone.

According to a 2013 Wall Street Journal article, millennials see the phone as "an interruption" - picking up the phone "without emailing first can make it seem as though you're prioritizing your needs over theirs."

This could be in part because many millennials, especially on the older end of the generation, grew up with AOL and instant messaging, which spawned a natural inclination toward texting and other messaging apps. Young millennials might not have even grown up with a landline in their home.

While a preference for texting over calling has seeped into the older generations - baby boomers still prefer calling to text, but just barely - most apps beyond standard messaging apps are still a younger person's game. In the 24 hours before the survey, only 5% of 55- to 64-year-olds had used Snapchat and only 1% would choose the app over texting and calling.