Talkin ’bout my generation: Individual perceptions of the significance of being part of the 1958 cohort

1. Sub-brand to go here Talkin ’bout my generation: Individual perceptions of the significance of being part of the 1958 cohort Jane Elliott Centre for Longitudinal Studies CLS is an ESRC Resource Centre based at the Institute of Education

2. Aims of the presentation • Introduction to the Social Participation project – qualitative sub-study of the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study (BCS) • Analysis of generational location of cohort members from the 1958 British BCS (quantitative analysis) • Exploration of generational identity of cohort members born in 1958 (qualitative analysis)

3. Generation a sociological concept • Generation location is based on the existence of biological rhythm in human existence – the factors of life and death, a limited span of life, and ageing. Individuals who belong to the same generation, who share the same year of birth, are endowed to that extent with a common location in the historical dimension of the social process. (p290) • the sociological phenomenon of generations is ultimately based on the biological rhythm of birth and death ... The sociological problem of generations therefore begins at that point where the sociological relevance of these biological factors is discovered...we must first of all try to understand the generation as a particular type of social location (p291) • Karl Mannheim (1929)

4. Generation a sociological concept • ‘As a concept, social generation straddles the disciplines of sociology, history and social psychology and viewed in this light, it epitomizes Mills’ dictum on the components of the sociological imagination (Mills 1970). As such, the sociology of generations deserves a greater profile within British sociology than it has had to date.’ Pilcher, 1994 p494) • 'It is the interaction between historical resources, contingent circumstances, and social formation that makes "generation" an interesting sociological category.‘ (Turner, 2002 p16) • ‘generation organizes the social world as profoundly as gender, class or race’ (McDaniel, 2002, p99)

5. Generation a sociological concept • Recent popular books on generation: • ‘The Pinch: How the baby boomers took their children’s future – and why they should give it back ’ David Willetts (2009) • ‘What did the Baby Boomers ever do for us’ Francis Becket (2010) • ‘Jilted Generation – how Britain has bankrupted its youth’ Ed Howker & ShivMalik (2010) • "There will come a point when the younger generation, who will be the workers, who will be the taxpayers, will in some way or other refuse to transfer the annual GDP to the older generation....through some mechanism or other there will come a point when the power will be with the younger generation and as we are unfair to them now, they may not be fair to us in future." said Willetts - interview 2 August 2010 [http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLNE67101520100802]

6. Generation: family relationships or historical context? • ‘To equate generation with birth cohort, while popularly engaging, is analytically imprecise, as well as misleading and socially divisive...birth date or cohort are, in fact, unchanging although their social interpretation and the meaning they have, vary...Generation, on the other hand is a relative, relational, and highly change-susceptible construct.’ (McDaniel, 2002, p92) • ‘In modern times, however, the concept of “generation increasingly makes sense only against the background of standardized time. We speak, in other words, of the “generation of the 1960s” and so forth’ (Giddens 1991, p146)

8. Social participation project: Qualitative Sub-study of NCDS 2008 • ESRC funded a qualitative component of the 2008 sweep of the 1958 cohort study • Initial aim to interview 180 cohort members in 3 separate areas of Britain • Aim to produce data to address substantive research interests • Aim to provide archived qualitative data for secondary analysis, together with the existing quantitative datasets • Joint project with CRESC at Manchester: Jane Elliott; Andy Miles; Sam Parsons; Mike Savage • Funded by the ESRC Research Resources Board

9. Structure of the interview and topic guide • Interview in six sections: • Neighbourhood and belonging • Social participation and leisure activities • Friendships • Life story and trajectories • Identities • Experience of the NCDS • Aim for an average of ninety minute interviews • Interviews digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim • Interviews to be deposited at the UK data archive

10. Sampling strategy • Initial aim: 60 cohort members in 3 areas of Britain – SE England, NW England, Southern Scotland – additional interviews funded in Wales by the Welsh Assembly Government • Stratified in terms of social mobility (using father’s socio-economic group when cohort member was 16 & cohort member’s own socio-economic group at age 46), to produce: • 60 interviews with stable working class • 30 with stable service class • 60 upwardly mobile • 30 downwardly mobile in each region • 238 cohort members invited to take part in the sub-study (71% response rate): • 170 successful interviews • 40 refusals/cancellations • 28 not contactable

11. Generational location and identity • The term ‘generation’ is used to mean both historical location – e.g. ‘The 60s generation’ – and also to refer to location within the extended family • By focussing on a cohort all born in 1958, historical location is arguably fixed (although still open to individual interpretation) • Analysis of the quantitative data reveals that the cohort is heterogeneous in terms of generational location within the family • Analysis of the qualitative interview material enables us to understand more about subjective generational identity and location

12. Generational location

13. Implicit and explicit questions about generational identity • “Do you feel you belong to a particular generation?” asked cohort members explicitly about their generational identity • Asking cohort members to tell their life story may be understood as an implicit way of uncovering generational identity, providing: • Historical context • Familial positioning

14. Key results: Generational identity • “Do you think of yourself as belonging to a particular generation?” • 78 (46%) cohort members felt they belonged to a generation • 67 (39%) cohort members stated they didn’t have a generational identity • 24 (15%) cohort members gave a mixed response • (Total sample = 170)

15. Main strategies for responding... • “Do you think of yourself as belonging to a particular generation?” • Historical context (87, 51%) – mainly mentioning decades • Age & ageing (49, 29%) • Comparisons with children and parents (46, 27%) • Social Change (37, 22%) • (Total sample = 170)

16. Cohort members who felt they belonged to a generation (46%) • Key themes emerging: • Identification with specific decades – particularly the 1970s • Identification with music – particularly the music of the 1970s • Social Change • Computers and technology • Manners and mores

17. The 1970s generation and music Do you consider yourself as belonging to a particular generation? I suppose just the generation from the ‘70s I suppose, growing up. To us it’s the ‘70s, that’s the era, you know, that was my years, ‘70s when you--, you’re a teenager and then you find your own way or whatever. So I think the ‘70s, you know, generation I am. (P372) Seventies. That was my era, the ‘70s, but that’s about it really. Just ABBA, 10cc, just relate it all into that, so you know when you were just in your teens and the music and that side of things. (P302)

18. Computers and technology I’m useless, you know, I’m the one finger type thing and I see my daughter and my son on the computer and I feel--, (P046) We didn't have videos and we didn't have--, like we had a brown telly with a wee tiny screen like that. And I said this would have been totally amazing. Like you would have thought we were the richest people in the world, to walk in here. (P238)

19. Manners and mores I think we’re--, I’m from the last generation that we seemed to be brought up to do as you were told and had to do it, whereas it seems to have all got very lax…Children seem to have far more input into what they do and say, manners don’t matter the same. (P1094)

20. Cohort members who don’t feel they belong to a generation (39%) • Key themes emerging: • Brief, unelaborated answers • Not being part of the 1960s generation • Socialising with all ages

21. Not being part of the ‘1960s generation’ “The ‘60s generation if you like was happening perhaps a bit too early for me.” (P606) “I'm not a child of the ‘60s...I kind of was too young for all that.” (P010) “Well the ‘60s was too early for me ‘cause I'd only have been two.” (p266)

22. Socialising with all ages Those who stated they are not part of a particular generation often talked about socialising with different age groups: “I don't socialise with my own age group, I socialise with every age group.” (P075) “In a group of people I can--, I can talk to people that are much older and people who are much younger without any difficulty whatsoever.” (P178)

23. Cohort members who gave a mixed response • Key themes emerging: • Talking about decades & particularly the 1970s • Recognising the ageing process

24. Not a strong generational identity but talks about the 1970s I don’t think I’m from a particular generation, obviously you are from a certain generation because, of course, that--, I suppose if I was to see myself as any particular generation it would be the generation where--, in the ‘70s really, when you’re reaching those teenage years so to speak, that’s the generation I would see myself from ‘cause they--, I suppose really they tend to be the years of the--, that leave a lasting impression on you ‘cause you start to make decisions for yourself. As you move into adulthood from a, obviously, childhood, so. (P741)

25. No strong generational identity but recognises ageing process By generation, if you mean like you’re getting older but I wouldn’t associate myself with one particular group, it’s just basically gradually getting older. But I mean a lot of friends are about, you know, ten years younger, friends the same age and I’ve got friends ten years older, so it’s not a restrictive age thing, it’s just as you’re getting older you realise you’re getting older. (P052)

26. Patterning of responses by gender and life stage

27. I’ve got children myself who--, young adults that defines you as not that age ‘cause you see them going out into the world, getting married or choosing jobs and you realise that’s all past for you, so I feel definitely--, I don’t feel--, I feel quite young at heart but I don’t feel--, and I can talk to them, like I could have this discussion with them about IT stuff and I wouldn’t close my mind to it--, well, a bit, not entirely but I don’t feel it’s our generation, no. (P504)

28. Life stories and historical context • The life stories provided by cohort members were: • Very heterogeneous • Some much more reflexive than others • Often focused on transition from school to work, and transition to adulthood more generally • Historical context within life stories most often relates to: • Education • The housing market • The job market/redundancy • Employment practices

29. Life stories and historical context I was trained to do book work, double entry books so I could use this, I could do something with my brain. And I quite enjoyed that and unfortunately their business folded, it wasn’t down to me but [laughs] a lot of businesses went out at that period, I think it was one of the worst times…We’re talking about the 1980s, so I left there in 1986 and I got myself a job at the airport. (P115) And my manager was very good because when I had the children she said, just tell me a month in advance what [your husband] is working and we’ll work your shifts round him and, you know, she was one of the early thinkers of flexible time really because it’s going back 20 years and she was very, very good. (P306)

30. Conclusions • Very limited evidence of a strong generational identity • Four main strategies used to respond to the explicit question: historical context; ageing; comparisons with parents and children; social change • Recognition of distinctive generations such as the war generation or the 1960s generation • Very little evidence of competition between generations or of feelings of injustice and inequality

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