Hey, Millennials: Your Grandparents Are Savvier About Password Security Than You

Just because millennials grew up with technology doesn’t mean they’re actually smarter about how they use it. If anything, they appear to be more careless when it comes to online security.

That’s according to a report released May 24 by Gigya, which has an API that businesses can use to let their customers log into websites using their social media accounts.

Surveying 4,000 adults in the U.S. and UK, Gigya found that 18- to 34-year-olds are more likely to use bad passwords and report their online accounts being compromised.

The elderly are often characterized as having trouble using technology, but they appear to be the savviest when it comes to protecting their accounts online. The majority of respondents ages 51 to 69 say they completely steer away from easily cracked passwords like “password,” “1234,” or birthdays, while two-thirds of those in the 18-to-34 age bracket copped to using those kinds of terms.

The diligence of the older group could help explain why 82 percent of respondents in this age range did not report having had any of their online accounts compromised in the past year.

In contrast, 35 percent of respondents between 18 and 34 said at least one of their accounts was hacked within the last 12 months, twice the rate of those aged 51 to 69.

Apparently, even when it comes to technology, young people have a thing or two to learn from their elders.