What Do Millennials Really Want?

 From their favorite digital devices to Lena Dunham, here's what we learned By Emma Bazilian 

What do you think of when you hear or read the word millennial?

Perhaps a smartphone-addicted twentysomething who spends her free time posting selfies on Instagram, sharing BuzzFeed lists on Facebook and creating socially conscious hashtags on Twitter? Or an overeducated, underemployed, not-so-recent college grad living at home with parents who raised him to believe he’s the most special snowflake? Or maybe Lena Dunham?

Photos: Joshua Scott; Producer: Samantha Kelly

While those clichés may apply to certain members of the millennial set, what really defines the more than 74 million adults 18-34 in the U.S. is that they tend to reject such broad characterizations. So rather than checking the latest research, talking to the experts and ultimately drawing our own conclusions about what millennials want, we took to the streets of New York last week to quiz 100 members of Generation Y about everything from their social media and shopping habits to their parents to the Super Bowl. And, yes, Lena Dunham. Because, well, Lena Dunham.

Video contains some profanity and might be nsfw.

Here are the results of our 100-millennial straw poll in New York City:

Produced by Samantha Kelly
Video shot by Chris O'Konski