A quarter of people say that the number of messages they receive is the main way they would measure the success of their birthday, research from gift card company One4All has found.
The research discovered that 76 per cent will post a greeting to friends on social media, but only 20 per cent said they expected to receive a birthday card through the post.
Declan Byrne, managing director UK of One4all, said: “Social media now plays a huge part in all of our lives and it’s interesting to see how it has impacted on the traditional birthday.
“It’s a social shift that is affecting many businesses who provide a service linked to birthday celebrations. For example, it’s led to us creating online group gifting, where friends can come together through social media to contribute to a joint gift.”
A third of people say that they find their own birthdays stressful and would rather celebrate someone else’s, while only 15 per cent say they would always have a birthday cake.
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