Yesterday, I gave the keynote speech at the Student Research Day at the Sociology Department at Tilburg University. The talk was advertised as covering my research interest on Immigration and the Welfare State. However, it took an interesting turn, as it was my birthday!

1. Tim Reeskens
Immigration and
the Welfare State
15/30/2017 Research Day 2017

2. 25/30/2017Research Day 2017
Just kidding! Check online! http://www.timreeskens.net

3. Tim Reeskens
The Social Significance
of Birthdays:
A Mixed Methods Perspective

4. Addresses the way society is created and maintained
through repeated interactions among individuals
Subjective meaning more than objective structure
(1) individuals act based on the meanings objects have for them
(2) interaction occurs within a particular social and cultural context
(3) meanings emerge from interactions with individuals and society
(4) meanings are continuously created and recreated
Symbolic Interactionism (Blumer, 1969)
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 4

5. • ‘Age’ as something biological
• ‘Ageing’ as something cultural
• Long-lasting idea that conceptions of ‘ageing’ differ across cultures
• Western societies: valuing ‘young’ ~ strength
• Asian societies: valuing ‘old’ ~ wisdom
• Recent insights: cross-cultural consensus (Löckenhoff et al., 2009)
• Decline in attractiveness, abilities of daily tasks, new learning
• Increase in wisdom, knowledge and received respect
Age as a social construct?
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 5

6. 65/30/2017Research Day 2017
What’s the social meaning of birthdays?
Let’s turn it in a mixed method perspective
Niet omdat het moet, maar omdat het kan
But …

7. Qualitative Evidence

8. Writing about age, birthdays, and the passage of time
Bill Bytheway, 2009
Mass-Observation Archive
(University of Sussex)
Panel of ‘ordinary’ people
• In 1990 asked to write
about ‘celebrations’
• In 2002 asked to write
about ‘birthdays’
N = 55
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 8

9. 1. How was the day identified?
2. How was the day spent and the birthday celebrated?
3. Who was mentioned as remembering the
birthday or participating in the celebrations?
4. What similarities are there in their stories?
5. To what extent do the differences reflect age-related changes?
Leading questions in the study
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 9

10. Birthdays are the anniversary of birth, and the particular
numbered day in a specified month is socially designated as
marking ‘the anniversary’: it is the day that is celebrated rather
than the hour or the week. For most people, possibly because of
this precision, the day is special. As a social event it is uniquely
identified by the date, the age and the name of the individual.
(Bytheway, 2009, p. 891)
1. How was the day identified?
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 10

11. Despite the differences in wording, both directives inspired
detailed narratives of the events of the day. These revealed
a high degree of continuity in how some respondents celebrated
their birthdays. (…) Ideally, gifts are surprises and some
excitement may be shown as they are unwrapped.
(Bytheway, 2009, p. 894)
2. How was the day spent and the birthday celebrated?
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 11

12. For most respondents, the people who participated in their birthday
celebrations are a key element in their stories. (…) Birthday cards are
an important way of maintaining long-established relationships,
representing a symbolic and continuing link with the past: some
respondents indicated that they were much valued. In addition to cards,
the descriptions of birthdays included details of who participated in
phone calls, meals, visits and parties. The predictable progression of
generations through family life is again evident in these details.
(Bytheway, 2009, pp. 894-895)
3. Who participated in the celebrations?
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 12

13. Perhaps the most basic and simple continuity is
the salience of the date. The analysis has revealed
that a birth date is not just part of our bureaucratic identity
but also of our social, cultural and personal identities.
(Bytheway, 2009, p. 898)
4. What similarities are there in their stories?
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 13

14. The most obvious changes revealed by the analysis were in the
respondents’ family and social networks. We all learn to live with,
the fact that generations ‘move on’, that mortality assures that one
generation succeeds another, but the impact of this experience of
ageing has not been satisfactorily documented by social gerontology.
(…) Age-related change is not only evident in the relationships of
the family members who participated in celebrations, but also
in the durations of friendships and acquaintanceships.
(Bytheway, 2009, pp. 898-899)
5. Does difference reflect age-related changes?
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 14

15. Quantitative Evidence

16. The relationship between birthdays (X) and age (Y)
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 16

17. • Debate initiated by Barraclough and Shepherd (1976)
~ Excess deaths 30 days before and after birthday (sample: > 75 y/o)
• VS
• Suicide postponement (Philips & Feldman, 1973)
‘Birthday Blues’ or ‘Postponement’?
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 17

18. Birthday Blues? (1)
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 18
Williams et al. (2011), p. 136

19. Birthday Blues (2)
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 19
Williams et al. (2011), p. 137

20. So, to conclude …
Who cares, as
long as there
are chocolates?
THANK YOU!!!
5/30/2017Research Day 2017 20