A new survey reveals almost 80% of millennials would rather lose the ability to make phone calls completely if it meant getting unlimited data

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• Millennials know what they want out of their phone, and it has nothing to do with making traditional calls.
• A majority of the 1,180 millennials and Generation-Z respondents surveyed said they would rather have unlimited data and give up calling altogether than the other way around.
• There are a number of alternative communication methods users would have to pay to use if they chose the latter, and most people - particularly younger generations - hardly make the calls to justify needing unlimited minutes.

Phone calls could be a thing of the past, if millennials had their way.

While it isn't a lost communication method for everyone, younger generations see it as a dispensable feature, and view data as non-negotiable: a smartphone without a phone still has countless purposes, after all, while a smartphone without data is just a phone.

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And given the option between no calling and no data, 78% of millennials (ages 18 to 34) said they would prefer to sign up for a phone plan with no calling and unlimited data over a plan with no data and unlimited calling, according to a survey conducted by app-based phone service Visible.

The trend is a product of stronger networks and their ability to seamlessly support other methods of communication like messaging and video calls without a hitch, negating the need for a calling feature altogether. Another large factor at play is social media, which not only requires data but is now accessed almost entirely via mobile - some of the newer platforms like Instagram and Snapchat aren't even built out completely for desktop.

But it isn't always about keeping in touch: About a third of respondents said they download new apps about once a month and 12% said they download new apps weekly. Most respondents were also well-aware that Netflix and Spotify were partially to blame for their data use; probably why 74% said they would opt for a flat rate plan rather than pay for what they actually use.

Most of the millennials and Generation Z (ages 18 to 22) participants surveyed claimed to be fairly knowledgeable about their cell phone plan, and it looks like they know what they're looking for in the fine print: data, data, and more data.