Bill Bytheway (Project Director)
Dates: 1st January 2004 - 30th April 2005
Funded by: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Is chronological age important to people? Are adults bothered about their birthdays? Some indulge in celebrations, some ignore birthdays, and for others they are personally challenging and difficult to handle. Moving into a new decade or finishing work on a birthday can be seriously demoralising.
The aim of this project was to collect and analyse evidence about the social significance of birthdays, and about how they contribute to a personal sense of ageing.
The primary source of data was the Mass-Observation Archive at the University of Sussex. In 2002, 186 members of its panel submitted detailed accounts of the significance of birthdays for them. These were linked with accounts that they submitted in previous years on topics such as celebrations and growing older.
In addition two questions were included in the Omnibus Survey of the Office for National Statistics. A random sample of approximately 1,850 adults were asked about their experience of, and attitudes towards, birthdays.
The project began in January 2004, undertaken by Bill Bytheway of the Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies at the Open University. It was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Bytheway, Bill (2005), Age identities and the celebration of birthdays. Ageing Society, 25(4), pp463-477.
Bytheway, Bill (2005), Ageism and age categorisation. Journal of Social Issues, 61(2), pp361-374.