What is it with tattoos these days?
I first noticed this when I was about 28. . . every girl younger then me had a tattoo (and more and more of the odd-ball ones older then me were getting them).
In the beginning, you rarely saw them, they were most often hidden -- in places I don't regularly show my Doc unless provoked. Now, of course, they are popping out of backs of pants and peeking up over low decolletage. Why bother getting one unless everyone can see it??
I trace it back to all those kids who had those fake rub-on tattoos that washed off. I wasn't particularly fond of those as a kid, but at least they washed off!
Growing up, I thought tattoos were for sailors, truck drivers, and motorcycle gangs. The "Tattooed Lady" was still a thing for carnival sideshows. Dating myself? So be it. Over the years I came to a place where I was O.K. with a guy having a few tattoos . . . taken on a case-by-case basis (it really helped if I knew that they were ex-military or something like that). But, I still find an un-inked guy a gem.
Youth rarely thinks of anything as being permanent, particularly in this culture. We throw away everything from paper plates to disposable cameras. No decision is ever final. Now, with laser resurfacing, tattoos don't seem like the irreversible decision that they used to be. But surprise surprise people! #1: it's really expensive to do and #2: it's kinda like using those old erasable pens. . . doesn't always work real well . . . & it leaves a smudge!
The natural tendency for young people to define themselves using objects has now been taken to extreme lengths (or eXtreme!!! as the case is always today). In the 70s, the right pair of flares, a cool lunchbox, & a Farrah or Dorothy Hamill haircut could define a gal. In the 80s, it meant buying designer jeans, shirts and purses, and making sure that everyone knew the label. But labels can be faked, and often were.
So, in today's economy, where "designer" items have fallen out of fashion/i.e. price range of today's youth - how's a kid to stand out from the crowd while fitting in with it? Many who can't afford designer wear (and many who can!) now spend their money on expensively designed tattoos. No better way to define oneself then by writing the label right on your body!
If you asked most young people -- "OK, I can give you a really cool haircut and style but you will be stuck with it for the rest of your life" -- do you think they'd take it? Perhaps. But they should look through their parent's yearbooks and ask themselves how much they really want to be frozen in time.
I have a hard enough time picking out wallpaper.
Anyway, they should be so lucky to have that look "frozen". Ever see an old-old tatttoo? Time marches on -- and your skin is going to show it. I personally find amusement in thinking of what reunions of these kids are going to look like in 30 + years. You do not want to be working in the old-folks home some 50-60 years from now . . . ugh!!!
I do imagine that by that time, you won't find many inked youth. Who wants to look like their old fart parents?? These parents will be stuck with the "velvet Elvis" class of art emblazoned across their bodies. Face lifts will become passé -- people will want to do whole body lifts. Remember - gravity is not a suggestion, it's the law.
It's sad that there are no ophthalmic studies in the works to improve foresight.
I first noticed this when I was about 28. . . every girl younger then me had a tattoo (and more and more of the odd-ball ones older then me were getting them).
In the beginning, you rarely saw them, they were most often hidden -- in places I don't regularly show my Doc unless provoked. Now, of course, they are popping out of backs of pants and peeking up over low decolletage. Why bother getting one unless everyone can see it??
I trace it back to all those kids who had those fake rub-on tattoos that washed off. I wasn't particularly fond of those as a kid, but at least they washed off!
Growing up, I thought tattoos were for sailors, truck drivers, and motorcycle gangs. The "Tattooed Lady" was still a thing for carnival sideshows. Dating myself? So be it. Over the years I came to a place where I was O.K. with a guy having a few tattoos . . . taken on a case-by-case basis (it really helped if I knew that they were ex-military or something like that). But, I still find an un-inked guy a gem.
Youth rarely thinks of anything as being permanent, particularly in this culture. We throw away everything from paper plates to disposable cameras. No decision is ever final. Now, with laser resurfacing, tattoos don't seem like the irreversible decision that they used to be. But surprise surprise people! #1: it's really expensive to do and #2: it's kinda like using those old erasable pens. . . doesn't always work real well . . . & it leaves a smudge!
So, in today's economy, where "designer" items have fallen out of fashion/i.e. price range of today's youth - how's a kid to stand out from the crowd while fitting in with it? Many who can't afford designer wear (and many who can!) now spend their money on expensively designed tattoos. No better way to define oneself then by writing the label right on your body!
If you asked most young people -- "OK, I can give you a really cool haircut and style but you will be stuck with it for the rest of your life" -- do you think they'd take it? Perhaps. But they should look through their parent's yearbooks and ask themselves how much they really want to be frozen in time.
I have a hard enough time picking out wallpaper.
Anyway, they should be so lucky to have that look "frozen". Ever see an old-old tatttoo? Time marches on -- and your skin is going to show it. I personally find amusement in thinking of what reunions of these kids are going to look like in 30 + years. You do not want to be working in the old-folks home some 50-60 years from now . . . ugh!!!
I do imagine that by that time, you won't find many inked youth. Who wants to look like their old fart parents?? These parents will be stuck with the "velvet Elvis" class of art emblazoned across their bodies. Face lifts will become passé -- people will want to do whole body lifts. Remember - gravity is not a suggestion, it's the law.
It's sad that there are no ophthalmic studies in the works to improve foresight.
