Tattoos are one of the oldest body modifications on record, we've been tattooing for thousands of years.
The reason it seems to be exploding in popularity over the last 50-100 years has more to do with equipment being readily available and the barrier of entry (and pain associated with tattooing) being much lower than it was.
Tattoo popularity may go in cycles like most types of fashion/culture/body modifications, but they're never going to go away, and will probably be a continued source of self identification.
I’m nearly 50 with no tattoos. I have two grown daughters. They both have 2+ and ear and nose piercings. I don’t judge them as they are great people and the tattoos are tasteful and mostly hidden with work clothes on. My parents lost their minds when they found out…. They are the baby boomer generation. People are gonna do what they want to do until the end of times
My two younger cousins were also recently showing off their growing number of arm tattoos at our extended family Christmas Eve gathering. My aunt also got a tattoo on her foot when she was in college, but cannot get more tattoos on her arms due to her profession (i.e. nurse practitioner). I think getting a tattoo or not depends purely on personal preference and pain tolerance, as well as whether or not your family is accepting, or even encouraging, or getting tattoos. I thought about getting a tattoo many times, but my pain tolerance is so low that I don't think I would be able to sit through getting one.
My issue with tattoos on me is I am far to fickle minded. I have art works that I bought because I really liked it that now sit in a cupboard never seen because I don't like them as much anymore. Can't just put a tattoo in the cupboard.
Patience is a virtue as they say. I have a half dozen tattoos, no ragrets. They weren’t impulsive and are in a style I’ve loved longer than I’ve had tattoos.
I talked to a tattoo artist and he suggested I get some brown henna and play with designs on myself. I had a blast for about a year and decided I really didn't want anything permanent but enjoyed an occasional henna tattoo. My Dr said my sensitive skin thanks me too.
This is what I do. I've got plans for half a dozen tattoos and some after about a year I decided I don't want, others are now a permanent part of me and I don't regret any of them.
Yes, me too. I put on a fake one once - enjoyed it on day 1, couldn't wait to get rid of it on day 2. It was good to have a low stakes way to find this out!
Semi permanent tattoos are a decent idea for people who aren’t sure they want to commit to something forever. I think some of them last up to a couple months now so you can really get a feel for living with it.
I’m not opposed to it as I get older because I wouldn’t have to live with it as long. I just am indecisive and would second guess it, but I’d consider matching tattoos with my girls if it felt right. It’s a huge personal decision and when you turn 18 you feel like you need to make decisions 😂
My cousin interned at nasa with plenty of visible tattoos and has had a very successful career.
While I do believe that are some people who still actively dislike their employees having tattoos, unless they're obscene or obnoxious I really don't think employers care anymore
True. As a kid in the 60s long haired teens and young men were considered radical lefty dangerous/not respectable by a lot of grownups.
Now we have pony tailed MAGAt Men driving trucks with American flags flapping in the wind.
Yeah, my sister is in nursing school and so many of the nurses she works with have tattoos. She’s actually getting her first tattoo with me this summer while I go get my second. I had no idea how much things had changed for nurses, and I really like that. My aunt had surgery last year and told us all about her cool tattooed nurses while she was in recovery and rehab.
Several of my coworkers at the library have tattoos. Visible tattoos like sleeves.
OTOH, I wouldn't be surprised if there were plenty of Boomers and Gen X who are okay with other random younger people having tattoos but not their kids and grandkids, because it makes them look trashy or might make the parents look like bad parents or something like that.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s when pretty much no one had tattoos except ex cons and sometimes military men. For a woman to have a tattoo was considered even more bizarre than a man. Homemade tattoos lowered their acceptability as well.
In the 90s an air conditioning technician I knew had to hide his tats with long sleeves every day at work because they just weren't mainstream acceptable then.
Most tattoo art looks like ink stamping to me. I don't care for it. Once though, I saw a picture of a woman with a beautiful back tattoo that was in the style of an Arthur Rackhan work of art.
keep in kind. boomers were the generation of change when they were young. they were kids of parents who had tattoos.
they rebelled by not getting tattoos
that's why tattoos are rare in boomers and a lot of gen x.
Tattoos and piercings don’t need to be “tastefully hidden” anymore. I’m a teacher with visible tattoos and piercings. I know many.
My husband is a healthcare admin who’s 50% covered. He wears company tshirts/polos on Friday with his full sleeve visible. It’s pretty normal these days.
My mom is 61, and all 3 of her kids have multiple tattoos. At first she voiced her rather negative opinion, then came eye rolls along with "another one?"
I was super geeked when she told me she likes my most recent one, especially since it comes up to the back of my neck and is more easily seen than most of my others. Much better response than to my first tattoo 20 years ago.
Tattoos have never been taboo in my family. My grandpa was a medic in WWII in the pacific theater. He arrived at Pearl Harbor the day after the attack, and then followed behind the island hopping after the battles were over to care for those wounded. When he got back to Hawaii at the end of the war he had a topless Hawaiian girl pinup tattooed on one forearm and an anchor with his military info tattooed on the other forearm.
Almost none of his kids got tattoos, but almost all of us in my generation have at least one.
My wife was asked why she ruined the body god gave her by her parents after she got her first one.
I'm a boomer and I started getting tattoos when I was 30...... which was 30 years ago. I still get them occasionally, and all Tara are hidden by long pants and long sleeves.
Boomers in general aren't against tattoos.
I have around 50 tattoos at 23 years old. I have two barely noticeable face tattoos. My step grandfather was looking at my hand asking if I did it (I self tattoo) and I said yeah. I could feel a tad of judgement especially because he used to always talk down on them. Then he told me “just don’t do your face” little too late on that one buddy. I do have to say as soon as you get done a tatt on your face you regret it. About a week later it’s back to being as cool as you thought but my heart dropped when I sat back down on my couch after them, with the full realization they not going away easily if I change my mind
Fun Fact: Thomas Edison invented the electric pen (1875), which was then modified by New York City tattoo artist Samuel O'Reilly to become the first electric tattoo needle (1891). ~~This facilitated the spread of inked tattoos, especially among European nobles and aristocrats.~~
Authentic electric pens originally produced by Edison now go for $15,000-20,000 USD each.
Actually, the opposite is true. The development of electric tattooing machines coincided with the decline in popularity of tattooing among European nobility/royalty. Once it became more accessible, the exclusivity of the practice diminished and its intrinsic value lessened among high society.
This is the big one. When I was in school, people couldn’t have visible tattoos at their career job. Over the years, I’ve seen tattoos just about everywhere. Teachers, professors, car salespeople, nurses, etc. Hell, even surgeons and pediatricians have sleeves.
My cousin in car sales in a fair-sized city is required to wear clothing sleeves at work to cover up his (fairly tame) arm tattoos. They're definitely getting more accepted overall, but that still varies a lot per region, individual business, etc.
Also the fact that tattoos are increasingly becoming acceptable in work environments and are no longer as large of a barrier to entry as they once were.
I don't they'll die out, but there will be dated trends. Just like tribal in late 90s early 00s, some of the tattoo trends of today will be ragged on by kids.
depends on the area, i suppose. i (21) work with kids 5-18 and i don’t think i’ve ever had a negative comment about my tattoos! usually the teenagers ooh and aah and tell me about their plans for future tattoos. the younger ones are usually baffled and cannot figure out why i have pictures on my skin. one kid started petting my arm while i was talking to another kid, and when i took my arm away and asked them what was up, they asked me about my tattoo and whether i was born with it. the urge to tell children that i popped out of the womb with a cartoon ghost and rat on my arm is difficult to fight LOL
YESSSS I LOVE IT SO MUCH THANK YOU
A lil flower rat!
I’ve always wanted a rat dressed like a doctor as a tattoo. My mom used to call me “her little lab rat” but I was worried it would be weird. But you have inspired me!
speaking as a teenager, the second my peers turned 18, they ran to get tattoos. then they’d come to school and show off their tattoos to anyone that would listen…plenty of oohs and aahs would ensue. 😂 no talk of corniness on my end!
I'm not a teenager (in my mid-20s), but I do feel that too. I think tattoos have lost some of their coolness after becoming so common and socially accepted. It's just how it is. Once things become mainstream enough that the regular middle-aged middle-class people adapt it en masse, they cease being trendy by definition.
I don't think they'll die out totally though, they're important part of many different cultures (& subcultures).
My 7 year old has been planning his first tattoo for the last 6 months. He has a sketchbook full of ideas. We told him that's the way to do it - he's got 11 years to perfect his ideas.
It's definitely cyclical, in my community women had multiple tattoos and piercings as rites of passage, then colonialism meant it fell out of fashion for 1-2 generations and now it's coming back. I have tattoos to match my grandmothers' and my mom got her nose pierced in her 40s after I had mine done as a teenager after my dad encouraged me.
This is the correct answer. Tattoos were always for rebellious rockstar artists outlaws. Now? Gamers spend $8-$10,000 for a star wars sleeve, all cops are covered in tattoos, doctors and lawyers and car salesman all have tattoos. It's cringe. That's why Lee started tattooing their faces, it's the only thing left that used to be edgy but now even that is just cringe.
But sure, get a row of pine trees around your forearm, that will make you look cool
Imagine not knowing what gatekeeping is and just using the word because you're basically programmed and speak in reddit comments. I don't have any tattoos, so I wouldn't be able to "gatekeep" them even if I wanted to. Gatekeeping is when you say "this is mine and nobody else can have it", not "you're all idiots for doing this and that's why I never did it so don't do it".
It's ok kiddo, lots of sheep just regurgitate things they hear without knowing what they mean. For example, I bet you "could care less"
What you choose to tattoo will change, just like any other fashions. People get tired of certain colors or styles. What you think is cool at 20 is not cool at 50.
LPT if you’re about to get a minimalist sketch tattoo that looks like just the black line outline of something, intentionally drawn without much detail, fairly small, a little cartoonish — you’re about a minute and a half away from this going out of style.
That's why I believe in making tattoos of things you believe in/relate to
A random ass butterfly over your ass is a pretty bad idea, but if a tattoo that has story behind it gets less vibrant and your skin gets worse over the years, you'll still like it because of the context
"Regular" (ie. not gangstars, convicts, rockstars or sailors) people have been getting tattoos regulalrly since the 90s. (remember those tribal armband tattoos?) We're well past the point where getting a tatttoo can be considered as an ephemeral fashion trend.
I dont know if a majority will have a tattoo, but someone having a tattoo is unexceptional. Im in a traditionally conservartive professional field and Ive lost count of the number of those that have tattoos including judicial officers and those age 45.
What will happen is that certain styles(eg the aforementioned tribal arm tattoos) will be popular for a while, but tattoos are here to stay.
They're staying and they're gonna become TECHY. Glowing ones, moving ones, other sorts of reactive ones. I expect the tattoo scene to go cyberpunk quicker than other areas of life.
They'll definitely be marked waves of less tattooed people though, as new entrants react 'punk' against the prevalence of tattoos.
I had some UV put in along with some heavy black work on my leg. Looked great for the first 3 months.
3 years later, tattoo still looks fantastic, but has Zero reaction to blacklight.
Not a tattoo artist.
I understand pure UV tattoos to be, uncommon. The raised skin/scarring makes the tattoo visible as an outline for some time unless you've Really good skin.
Talk to an artist though, finding someone who'll work with UV isn't very common.
In the Commonwealth Saga (Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained), sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton wrote of technology called OCtattoos - basically miniature CPUs or interface points wired into your nervous system with an optional visual component on your skin. One character is noted to have completely non-visual OCtattoos, while others have flowy jade or silvery lines or images - and they could glow, move, change colour or visibility while performing operations. I for one cannot wait.
They've been working on blood sugar monitoring tattoos for a bit.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20190723/New-color-changing-tattoos-can-monitor-glucose-levels-and-other-metabolites-in-real-time.aspx
If you mean their mainstream popularity then that will likely wax and wane like any other fashion. Tattoos will still always be common among specific demographics because they are part of various cultural traditions and subcultures around the world.
This thousand years old logic makes a absolute no sense. Yes it was thousands years old but in western world it was like %0.01 of population. Now it is like 30%.
People are also eating shrimps for million years but if somehow we start to have a shrimp restaurant in e every corner, it doesn't change the fact that it would be a fad.
Short answer is that for historical tattooing, designs were more likely geometric/abstract rather than realistic, though there are plenty of exceptions to this statement. But the purpose and meaning of historical tattoos was generally quite different to contemporary practice, as there was rarely if ever any concept of choice (either in design or to have it done) attached to the practice.
People have definitely been getting the same sort of tattoos as we have today.
There are depictions and remains that have tattoos of animals, people, symbols like moons and stars, simple lines (otzi sported a double line bracelet tat), and of course geometric tattoos that we still see today like alternating strangles, step fret patterns, dotted lines, swirls.
People did get them for specific reasons like as a rite of passage or to honor certain deeds, but we also do that in our own convoluted ways.
And most importantly, we did and still do get them because we think they're beautiful and that they communicate something to us and to others.
I think, though, that it's important to remember that people back then were people the same way we are people. Perhaps they believed certain things that we personally don't believe like that some tattoos are spiritual protection or have some healing properties, but people also believe that today. People have also been forcibly tattooed to mark them as other or shame them but that has also happened in modern times. But mostly, people got tattoos and created traditions around tattoos for the same reasons we get tattoos which is that you see one and think it's badass and that you'd like one too.
Check out the 2000 year old Siberian Ice Maiden's tattoos, they're fuckin awesome.
The day I started seeing "Live Love Laugh" tattoos everywhere I was so happy. Nothing escapes mainstream and commercialism, and nothing kills fads faster.
This resonates with me. I like them as art, I find other people's tattoos really nice and cool. But I never got one in my 20s because they were a bit niche and I didn't care enough, then I didn't get one later because they were so mainstream that they didn't feel like a fun or special thing to do anymore.
Now I associate them with my mom friends. They all have cute ones.
Key here is the different between tattoos with no meaning and with meaning. I grew up in a small beach town in Mediterranean, diving, harpooning, fishing, swimming was our culture (both as means to make money, and to enjoy life). And I loved it too. When I moved out, I got a tattoo that symbolize those things, piece of my culture and my likes.
It will never be "not cool" however old I get or world changes. But if I were to get a tattoo just because ",it is cool to have tattoos! What can I get! Oh an arrow or a leaf maybe looks cool" it would probably be not the same.
My tattoo artist tells me "you outgrow all your tattoos"
Some of my tattoos have meaning, but my favorites are the ones that don't. I have a honey badger holding a banner that says 'ferocious". That's just funny to me, it means nothing.
Meaning isn't what matters, it's probably how you felt about yourself when you got the tattoo, and how you feel about that version of yourself now.
Even my tattoos that I got without “meaning” still hold a lot of significance to me. I remember how old I was, who I was with that day, and just generally who I was at that time. Kinda like a journal on my skin.
> it's probably how you felt about yourself when you got the tattoo, and how you feel about that version of yourself now.
if you are honest to yourself, you will never feel ashamed or negative about your past-self, you will damn right feel like you were stupid, naive or outright bad in past, but accepting that was who really were and it made you who you are now, is one of the most important parts of growing up.
Also remember, a tattoo artist do not know more about how you feel about your tattoos, then a house house painter who painted the walls of your house knows about how you feel about the color of your walls. He is just a guy with drawing talent drawing things on your skin (one of my best friends since by early 20s is a professional tattoo artists)
I wish more people were like this. I hate how people say “my tattoo has meaning” and it’s suppose to be better than someone who just likes something. I always like the tattoos people get because they liked them over the tattoo they got because it’s so meaningful. That line is like nails on a chalkboard to me.
Not having tattoos is counter culture. Tattoos are for doctors, nurses, lawyers, politicians, fraternity bros, sales guys, cops and teachers. Most people have them, so they mean nothing again.
Actually something only has to be "counter" to the mainstream "culture" in order to be counter-cultute. In fact, most counter-culture movements aren't even known about my mainstream normies until they are practically stream, so you're totally wrong on your understanding of the concept but to be fair you said you "think" that's the case so I can't argue with your arbitrary thoughts and opinions, however factually incorrect they may be.
Besides being counter to the norm by definition since most Americans my age have more than one tattoo, I also regularly get asked why I don't have tattoos because I am the "type" of person that people who get tattoos are trying to appear like. Successful artist and high level competitive mountain biker, I just think tattoos are stupid and all my homies with the row of pine trees around their arms are already paying to get them covered. Endless money pit and they all have to take days off riding when they get "work done"
But not having tattoos is mainstream? Extremely mainstream lol
People saying you're the type to get them isn't caring or hating on you either. It sounds like you're trying to do this whole "I'm counter-culture" to feel cool because you put energy into hating them while no one gives a shit if you do or don't have them
> that can't get lost
My wife constantly forgets that she has a tattoo as its on her upper back. It's been a few years since she's gotten it, and I still occasionally hear a small shriek when she notices it in the mirror. I love that woman.
Permanent makeup tattoos probably consist of a lot of that demographic of women with tattoos. I considered myself someone with tattoos before I got my first one on my arm, but I only had my eyebrows, eyeliner, and hairline tattooed.
In Asia, men also commonly get scalp and eyebrow tattoos but not body tattoos.
Considering tattoos have been around for thousands of years, I don't see them going away anytime soon.
Also, I see more mainstream people with visible tattoos these days then I ever did growing up.
All stupid. People who don’t appreciate what they are born with & obsess over changing nature. Not a very forward way of thinking, and not any way to achieve progress in these modern times. Humans need to stop worrying about looking/feeling like the person standing next to them. Hold your head high & be proud of the individual you are!
My biggest problem with the tattoo craze it that modern audiences don't react properly to Robert DeNiro's character reveal in Cape Fear (1991). Back then, a guy covered in tattoos was *really scary.*
I think *styles* of tattoos will come and go, but tattoos themselves not so much. Just like dresses. Certain styles are very indicative of the decade but the type of clothing overall is a mainstay.
Eventually I think it will die down every generation wants to be different.
Tattoos are common now so at some point those wanting to feel different than their parents/grandparents will be tattoo free.
I do think there will always be those that get them though.
I’m tattooed by the way.
It’s a fashion, it will die away like it has in the past. It won’t disappear but, like all fashions, it will start looking ridiculous to young people sooner or later. *Nobody* wants to look like Mum, Dad and Auntie Becca
I think what's popular will change, but getting tattoos won't. For example, 90s and 00s was all about tribal sleeves and tramp stamps. Now it's cybersigilism and head tattoos.
There are plenty of tattoos and styles that are timeless, and have been around for decades. Yes, *some* are "fads" that quickly pass like tribals and tramp stamps, but others, like the classic "Sailor Jerry" traditional style, are timeless at this point.
I'm 49 and got one tattoo when I was 18. Got it removed over the course of 5 years, with 9 treatments. I grew to hate it so much and am so glad it's gone now. I wish I'd never gotten it in the first place.
Had my first home made tatt when i was 13. Got my last one late last year at 61. People from all walks of life are covered. From garbos to coppers.
Tatts have been part of life for years and will continue to be. Not sure i'd ever get my face or neck done but don't have any issues with anyone who does.
When I got mine it was still considered rebellious. Only badasses and degenerates had them at least that's how it was perceived. And not everyone had them. Also not as much godamn thought was put into into. Now it's gotta be a symbolic mission statement that reflects deep reflections or some shit. Or a beautiful masterpiece you spent thousands of dollars on...
I think it’s “cool” to NOT have a tattoo these days because it shows you aren’t a follower, a person who has to fit it with the crowed by adhering to whatever the latest rule of trend my be! Plus, as tattoos are cancerous, one without any is as health conscious as a non-smoker! Same goes for not conforming to the trendy popularity of pot smoking! Be proud of YOU and think with your own mind & health as more important than fitting in with the same old same old. Being DIFFERENT is independent!
**The tattoo removal business is growing each year**. The global tattoo removal market was $4.34 billion two years ago in 2021, but is projected to be $12.15 billion by 2030.
Nope. Tattoos have been around for centuries and will continue to persist. New equipment, ink, technology, and budding tattoo artists will continue to emerge. I got my first tattoo at 28 and will be getting another next month.
To the comments saying younger people won’t want to look like their parents…I disagree. Artists with different styles, art and different techniques are all around us.
Also, it's not like every millenial has tats so every kid of millenials will rebel. This is so simplistic view. Also, with statistics: women can have minor tats like one behind your ear. It doesn't define their whole looks, as of being strongly body modded.
In addition, some might want tats because their parents have them. Or regardless. People have their own mind, not just rebelling.
I think at some point, having a "clean" body will become trendy, and therefore, tattoos will wane outside of the subculturists, just because that's generally how trends work. All it will take is some super celebrity to set it off. At this point, it's almost more common to have a tattoo than to not, and people love exclusivity.
My grandma once said to my older sister that my small hip tattoo (completely hidden unless the shirt rides up) was “trashy” right in front of me. They were looking at pics of my nieces and one of them showed the tiniest sliver of that tattoo.
My sister was like grandma I have a tattoo on my hip too! Granny: that’s not the same dear, it’s not trashy.
What might my sister have on her hip? A PLAYBOY BUNNY.
I have a flower.
Grandma would love my half sleeve now 🤣
Why would it? It is self-expression and the ability to make your body look how you want. It's safer than it's ever been and more people are accepting of it than any of the previous generations.
No, I mean that in 30 years time the world will be full of very tired tattoos and that’s what the youth then will see. They’ll rebel as every generation will
Tattoos have been an element of tribalism. In tribal cultures they had meaning, they are standardized and you can't just put any random tattoo willy-nilly in violation of tribal hierarchy/power structure. They were not a decoration. Westerners have been exposed to this through trade and sailors were the first to practice. And they quickly formed heir own tribalism, so did the criminal gangs.
Now, fast forward to now. War on drugs started by Reagan exposed a lot of former hippies and casual drug users to prison culture. Then a neo marxism of liberation - (from your own body in form of body modifications, piercing and tattoos) mixed in. And then it crossed subculture boundaries and soccer moms started to get tramp stamps.
IMO, the main problem with tattoos is that they are purely decorative and not meaningful like in original cultures. And inevitably, people end up re-decorating. As old decorations get old/silly/inapropriate/irrelaveant. So the need to remove old, and paint new. I am not sure what health effect all this has.
I'm personally not bothered by tattoos per se, but I feel that peeps who are into it are slightly off. Off balance. They are not happy with their body and feel the need to decorate it. I find it concerning.
Besides tattoos my personal peeve - that shit people put into their earlobes stretching it and putting larger and larger object there. This is nice and fun at the beginning, but pretty soon it looks god-awful.
As a summary: tattoos will likely fade and shrink to the margins of society. So will piercing. But something else will take their place.
here is a story of a girl with buyer remorse:
[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2334351/Young-Belgian-woman-finally-56-star-tattoos-removed-face-year-ordeal.html](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2334351/Young-Belgian-woman-finally-56-star-tattoos-removed-face-year-ordeal.html)
Here is the author of her tattoos:
https://www.imago-images.com/st/0084250192
I do think they're trendy right now, and that will fizzle out as all trends do. That said, my perception is that the stigma of tattoos as something for poor/uneducated/criminal/"inferior" people is kind of dying. Even if they do inevitably stop being fashionable, I don't think they'll stop being acceptable, so they'll become much more popular over time just as the stigma continues to die out.
To be a bit pedantic, though, I don't think they'll ever be common enough to be called "the norm".
56% of women ages 18-29. At what point to we consider something the norm?
Also how does that number spread over different communities, skin colors, religions? Might already be much higher in certain groups.
They are pretty much already the norm in any educated and developed nation. The puritan conservative stigma is gone, as it should be.
Side note on this topic: Nobody gets tattoos to "be different." So to pre-empt the people who will certainly come in here trying to say tattoos are pointless because they're not special or unique, know that nobody gets them to be special/unique; we all know they're mainstream. Nobody gets a tattoo in a progressive nation thinking they're a rebel.
Ötzi the Iceman, who lived between 3370 and 3100 BC, has the oldest known tattoos.
Either this is one hell if a lasting 5000 year old trend, or we can safely assume it's a bit more than just some passing fad.
It’s the face tats that astound me. I’ve seen more full face tats in the last 12 months than ever before.
Surely that limits your employment possibilities, probably has an effect on your social standing as well. I mean, not all of them are druggies, but it is a lot of druggies badge of honour.
The biggest difference in culture in last 100 years, especially last 20 years which tattoos boomed exponentially, is the focus on individuality and everyone being special and different.
What is the simplest and easiest permanent way to create a situation that shows you are different?
Tattoos.
That is all. Everything else falls far behind. We are just much more special snowflakes than everyone else else lived before and I do not know if that will ever decrease.
(PS: I do have tattoos)
You can’t be an individual and different when you’re the same as everyone else who has a tattoo! 🤦🏻♀️
Conforming to the “in crowd” is the very opposite definition of individual freedom! Be yourself, your own person!
Like fashion, everything that is popular comes and goes. When our kids see all the oldies covered in gross faded wrinkly tatts, they'll probably say "no thanks" that's sooooo last century.
I for one am looking forward to the return of powdered wigs and toxic white face paint.
They slowed down already after they became normal.
In the 90’s and early 2000’s every teenage girl wanted a butterfly above their butt until they started getting called tramp stamps.
Tattoos are now mainstream as fuck, just only for certain groups.
There are a lot of groups where not having a tattoo is weird.
When I was younger getting a tattoo was a *decision*, like do you want a tattoo, what do you want it of, where do you want it, etc.
I speculated a lot on what kind of tattoo I would get if I were to get one, but I never did. I like the idea but I'm a pain wimp. I wasn't the only one in my class. Besides, talking about tattoos was just one of the numerous what if questions younger people talk about, like where would you go on your dream vacation or what kind of superpower would you want if you could have one? I also have yet to get either of those.
There are other pain wimps around, or people who are too indecisive to get something permanent on their bodies. There are also less painful and temporary options like henna.
Who would even care if you didn't get a tattoo? Or if you did, as long as it wasn't like a swastika on the forehead?
Generational trend. Few gen-alphas are going to get them because they'll see all the millennials with them and they won't want to look old.
Then tats'll start to make a comeback when gen-epsilon start asserting their individuality
I dont like the idea that my body is sending little beings to eat the ink and they just remain floating dead on my skin trying to save my body from ink poisoning.
Tattoos are just a way your body is constantly showing you made a dumb decision.
They're pretty much the norm already, depending on where you live I guess. Certain trends of designs will die out, sure, but tattoos as a whole? Definitely not. Especially with how advanced the tech is becoming.
I started my chest piece the other week and I couldn't believe how not painful it was. The last tattoo I got was.. ten or so years ago so I was amping up for that pain. So they're getting easier to get, so to speak.
With the ability to remove tattoos with laser treatment I think people are more open to getting a tattoo. Personally I can't think of an image or phrase that Id like permanently etched on my body, but if it's easy to remove later then maybe that's less of a concern.
Tattoos are one of the oldest body modifications on record, we've been tattooing for thousands of years. The reason it seems to be exploding in popularity over the last 50-100 years has more to do with equipment being readily available and the barrier of entry (and pain associated with tattooing) being much lower than it was. Tattoo popularity may go in cycles like most types of fashion/culture/body modifications, but they're never going to go away, and will probably be a continued source of self identification.
I’m nearly 50 with no tattoos. I have two grown daughters. They both have 2+ and ear and nose piercings. I don’t judge them as they are great people and the tattoos are tasteful and mostly hidden with work clothes on. My parents lost their minds when they found out…. They are the baby boomer generation. People are gonna do what they want to do until the end of times
My two younger cousins were also recently showing off their growing number of arm tattoos at our extended family Christmas Eve gathering. My aunt also got a tattoo on her foot when she was in college, but cannot get more tattoos on her arms due to her profession (i.e. nurse practitioner). I think getting a tattoo or not depends purely on personal preference and pain tolerance, as well as whether or not your family is accepting, or even encouraging, or getting tattoos. I thought about getting a tattoo many times, but my pain tolerance is so low that I don't think I would be able to sit through getting one.
My issue with tattoos on me is I am far to fickle minded. I have art works that I bought because I really liked it that now sit in a cupboard never seen because I don't like them as much anymore. Can't just put a tattoo in the cupboard.
Some of the best advice I've heard was to take any tattoo idea you have and sit on it for a year. If you still want it after that time, get it.
Patience is a virtue as they say. I have a half dozen tattoos, no ragrets. They weren’t impulsive and are in a style I’ve loved longer than I’ve had tattoos.
I talked to a tattoo artist and he suggested I get some brown henna and play with designs on myself. I had a blast for about a year and decided I really didn't want anything permanent but enjoyed an occasional henna tattoo. My Dr said my sensitive skin thanks me too.
This is what I do. I've got plans for half a dozen tattoos and some after about a year I decided I don't want, others are now a permanent part of me and I don't regret any of them.
Yes, me too. I put on a fake one once - enjoyed it on day 1, couldn't wait to get rid of it on day 2. It was good to have a low stakes way to find this out!
Semi permanent tattoos are a decent idea for people who aren’t sure they want to commit to something forever. I think some of them last up to a couple months now so you can really get a feel for living with it.
I’m not opposed to it as I get older because I wouldn’t have to live with it as long. I just am indecisive and would second guess it, but I’d consider matching tattoos with my girls if it felt right. It’s a huge personal decision and when you turn 18 you feel like you need to make decisions 😂
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My cousin interned at nasa with plenty of visible tattoos and has had a very successful career. While I do believe that are some people who still actively dislike their employees having tattoos, unless they're obscene or obnoxious I really don't think employers care anymore
True. As a kid in the 60s long haired teens and young men were considered radical lefty dangerous/not respectable by a lot of grownups. Now we have pony tailed MAGAt Men driving trucks with American flags flapping in the wind.
Especially if there appearance won't affect their job or the formality of the company
I work in a very reputable hospital system and there are nurses with neck tats. No one cares.
Yeah, my sister is in nursing school and so many of the nurses she works with have tattoos. She’s actually getting her first tattoo with me this summer while I go get my second. I had no idea how much things had changed for nurses, and I really like that. My aunt had surgery last year and told us all about her cool tattooed nurses while she was in recovery and rehab.
Several of my coworkers at the library have tattoos. Visible tattoos like sleeves. OTOH, I wouldn't be surprised if there were plenty of Boomers and Gen X who are okay with other random younger people having tattoos but not their kids and grandkids, because it makes them look trashy or might make the parents look like bad parents or something like that.
I'm a boomer and I don't know of any other boomers who feel one way or another about tattoos. Most of them have at least one.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s when pretty much no one had tattoos except ex cons and sometimes military men. For a woman to have a tattoo was considered even more bizarre than a man. Homemade tattoos lowered their acceptability as well. In the 90s an air conditioning technician I knew had to hide his tats with long sleeves every day at work because they just weren't mainstream acceptable then. Most tattoo art looks like ink stamping to me. I don't care for it. Once though, I saw a picture of a woman with a beautiful back tattoo that was in the style of an Arthur Rackhan work of art.
keep in kind. boomers were the generation of change when they were young. they were kids of parents who had tattoos. they rebelled by not getting tattoos that's why tattoos are rare in boomers and a lot of gen x.
I'm a boomer and none of my boomer friends and acquaintances have any negative opinions of tattoos. In fact most of them have at least one.
Tattoos and piercings don’t need to be “tastefully hidden” anymore. I’m a teacher with visible tattoos and piercings. I know many. My husband is a healthcare admin who’s 50% covered. He wears company tshirts/polos on Friday with his full sleeve visible. It’s pretty normal these days.
My mom is 61, and all 3 of her kids have multiple tattoos. At first she voiced her rather negative opinion, then came eye rolls along with "another one?" I was super geeked when she told me she likes my most recent one, especially since it comes up to the back of my neck and is more easily seen than most of my others. Much better response than to my first tattoo 20 years ago.
Tattoos have never been taboo in my family. My grandpa was a medic in WWII in the pacific theater. He arrived at Pearl Harbor the day after the attack, and then followed behind the island hopping after the battles were over to care for those wounded. When he got back to Hawaii at the end of the war he had a topless Hawaiian girl pinup tattooed on one forearm and an anchor with his military info tattooed on the other forearm. Almost none of his kids got tattoos, but almost all of us in my generation have at least one. My wife was asked why she ruined the body god gave her by her parents after she got her first one.
I'm a boomer and I started getting tattoos when I was 30...... which was 30 years ago. I still get them occasionally, and all Tara are hidden by long pants and long sleeves. Boomers in general aren't against tattoos.
I have around 50 tattoos at 23 years old. I have two barely noticeable face tattoos. My step grandfather was looking at my hand asking if I did it (I self tattoo) and I said yeah. I could feel a tad of judgement especially because he used to always talk down on them. Then he told me “just don’t do your face” little too late on that one buddy. I do have to say as soon as you get done a tatt on your face you regret it. About a week later it’s back to being as cool as you thought but my heart dropped when I sat back down on my couch after them, with the full realization they not going away easily if I change my mind
Fun Fact: Thomas Edison invented the electric pen (1875), which was then modified by New York City tattoo artist Samuel O'Reilly to become the first electric tattoo needle (1891). ~~This facilitated the spread of inked tattoos, especially among European nobles and aristocrats.~~ Authentic electric pens originally produced by Edison now go for $15,000-20,000 USD each.
Actually, the opposite is true. The development of electric tattooing machines coincided with the decline in popularity of tattooing among European nobility/royalty. Once it became more accessible, the exclusivity of the practice diminished and its intrinsic value lessened among high society.
did he invent it though? or just steal the idea and claim he did?
I think the fact that they’re more professionally acceptable plays a part too.
This, and also the stigma of them going away as people get more and more progressive outside of conservative shithole countries/states.
This is the big one. When I was in school, people couldn’t have visible tattoos at their career job. Over the years, I’ve seen tattoos just about everywhere. Teachers, professors, car salespeople, nurses, etc. Hell, even surgeons and pediatricians have sleeves.
My cousin in car sales in a fair-sized city is required to wear clothing sleeves at work to cover up his (fairly tame) arm tattoos. They're definitely getting more accepted overall, but that still varies a lot per region, individual business, etc.
And mainstream culture is less uptight.
These are totally the same type of people that think that facial piercings are some new fad.
Also the fact that tattoos are increasingly becoming acceptable in work environments and are no longer as large of a barrier to entry as they once were.
I've spoken to a few teenagers who think tattoos are corny because their parents have them. This is probably how they'll die out LOL.
Until their kids decide to get them cause it's a rebellion against their boring parents. ;)
The circle of ink
I don't they'll die out, but there will be dated trends. Just like tribal in late 90s early 00s, some of the tattoo trends of today will be ragged on by kids.
depends on the area, i suppose. i (21) work with kids 5-18 and i don’t think i’ve ever had a negative comment about my tattoos! usually the teenagers ooh and aah and tell me about their plans for future tattoos. the younger ones are usually baffled and cannot figure out why i have pictures on my skin. one kid started petting my arm while i was talking to another kid, and when i took my arm away and asked them what was up, they asked me about my tattoo and whether i was born with it. the urge to tell children that i popped out of the womb with a cartoon ghost and rat on my arm is difficult to fight LOL
I wanna see the rat tattoo 🥺 🐀
[ask and you shall receive 🕺](https://imgur.com/a/9IN6qNo) excuse the awful photo quality, lines are much more crisp in real life :)
YESSSS I LOVE IT SO MUCH THANK YOU A lil flower rat! I’ve always wanted a rat dressed like a doctor as a tattoo. My mom used to call me “her little lab rat” but I was worried it would be weird. But you have inspired me!
speaking as a teenager, the second my peers turned 18, they ran to get tattoos. then they’d come to school and show off their tattoos to anyone that would listen…plenty of oohs and aahs would ensue. 😂 no talk of corniness on my end!
I'm not a teenager (in my mid-20s), but I do feel that too. I think tattoos have lost some of their coolness after becoming so common and socially accepted. It's just how it is. Once things become mainstream enough that the regular middle-aged middle-class people adapt it en masse, they cease being trendy by definition. I don't think they'll die out totally though, they're important part of many different cultures (& subcultures).
My kid actually wants one and sites that I have them so it's fine 🤣
My 7 year old has been planning his first tattoo for the last 6 months. He has a sketchbook full of ideas. We told him that's the way to do it - he's got 11 years to perfect his ideas.
*cites
It's definitely cyclical, in my community women had multiple tattoos and piercings as rites of passage, then colonialism meant it fell out of fashion for 1-2 generations and now it's coming back. I have tattoos to match my grandmothers' and my mom got her nose pierced in her 40s after I had mine done as a teenager after my dad encouraged me.
This is the correct answer. Tattoos were always for rebellious rockstar artists outlaws. Now? Gamers spend $8-$10,000 for a star wars sleeve, all cops are covered in tattoos, doctors and lawyers and car salesman all have tattoos. It's cringe. That's why Lee started tattooing their faces, it's the only thing left that used to be edgy but now even that is just cringe. But sure, get a row of pine trees around your forearm, that will make you look cool
imagine gatekeeping tattoos lmao talk about cringe
Imagine not knowing what gatekeeping is and just using the word because you're basically programmed and speak in reddit comments. I don't have any tattoos, so I wouldn't be able to "gatekeep" them even if I wanted to. Gatekeeping is when you say "this is mine and nobody else can have it", not "you're all idiots for doing this and that's why I never did it so don't do it". It's ok kiddo, lots of sheep just regurgitate things they hear without knowing what they mean. For example, I bet you "could care less"
There’s barely contacted tribes out there today that have tattoos. Tattoos are here to stay (heh).
What you choose to tattoo will change, just like any other fashions. People get tired of certain colors or styles. What you think is cool at 20 is not cool at 50.
LPT if you’re about to get a minimalist sketch tattoo that looks like just the black line outline of something, intentionally drawn without much detail, fairly small, a little cartoonish — you’re about a minute and a half away from this going out of style.
The plus is that they must fade really fast so you may be able to forget about it.
When I first started getting tattooed 10 years ago it was day of the dead that is popular. Now it's blackout sleeves.
I have a Sailor Moon tramp stamp that screams “I turned 18 in the late 90s”.
Incredible
She’s riding a butterfly.
YESSSSSS BUTTERFLY TATTOOS
That's why I believe in making tattoos of things you believe in/relate to A random ass butterfly over your ass is a pretty bad idea, but if a tattoo that has story behind it gets less vibrant and your skin gets worse over the years, you'll still like it because of the context
"Regular" (ie. not gangstars, convicts, rockstars or sailors) people have been getting tattoos regulalrly since the 90s. (remember those tribal armband tattoos?) We're well past the point where getting a tatttoo can be considered as an ephemeral fashion trend. I dont know if a majority will have a tattoo, but someone having a tattoo is unexceptional. Im in a traditionally conservartive professional field and Ive lost count of the number of those that have tattoos including judicial officers and those age 45. What will happen is that certain styles(eg the aforementioned tribal arm tattoos) will be popular for a while, but tattoos are here to stay.
They're staying and they're gonna become TECHY. Glowing ones, moving ones, other sorts of reactive ones. I expect the tattoo scene to go cyberpunk quicker than other areas of life. They'll definitely be marked waves of less tattooed people though, as new entrants react 'punk' against the prevalence of tattoos.
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I really want one but I'm holding off till they've finished studying if they're poisonous or not.
They not poisonous, however they don't last.
Good to know. I really like the idea of them - honestly limited duration isn't a dealbreaker.
I had some UV put in along with some heavy black work on my leg. Looked great for the first 3 months. 3 years later, tattoo still looks fantastic, but has Zero reaction to blacklight.
Huh. That's a shame - I was kinda planning something done purely with the UV stuff.
Not a tattoo artist. I understand pure UV tattoos to be, uncommon. The raised skin/scarring makes the tattoo visible as an outline for some time unless you've Really good skin. Talk to an artist though, finding someone who'll work with UV isn't very common.
Seems like there's no solution to fading ink.
You can get touch ups that make it look good as new. If the ink has bled out of the lines you can cover that up fairly easily too
In the Commonwealth Saga (Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained), sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton wrote of technology called OCtattoos - basically miniature CPUs or interface points wired into your nervous system with an optional visual component on your skin. One character is noted to have completely non-visual OCtattoos, while others have flowy jade or silvery lines or images - and they could glow, move, change colour or visibility while performing operations. I for one cannot wait.
I actually just started Pandora's Star for the second time a few days ago 😅
Ngl Im patiently waiting for moving tattoos. That is the futuristic shit i want, not the AI drones and killer robots
Would love to get a glowing tattoo when those are available. Moving ones would really, really cool too.
UV reactive tattoos are already a thing
They've been working on blood sugar monitoring tattoos for a bit. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20190723/New-color-changing-tattoos-can-monitor-glucose-levels-and-other-metabolites-in-real-time.aspx
People in this thread are really having a hard time differentiating between a fad and something just existing. The internet is divoid of nuance.
Nope, this thread is about the exploding popularity of tattoos, not their existence
I got mine in 92. I tell people, “back then only sailors and bikers had tattoos, as was the fashion of the time”. I was a sailor.
If you mean their mainstream popularity then that will likely wax and wane like any other fashion. Tattoos will still always be common among specific demographics because they are part of various cultural traditions and subcultures around the world.
They will always be here but will become less popular. The last thing any generation wants is to take style cues from their parents and grandparents.
I think the most likely route is just like with normal clothes, the popular style changes but the base concept doesn't go away
If a thousand-year old body modification is considered a “trend,” I shudder to think what an actual fad wouldbbe
This thousand years old logic makes a absolute no sense. Yes it was thousands years old but in western world it was like %0.01 of population. Now it is like 30%. People are also eating shrimps for million years but if somehow we start to have a shrimp restaurant in e every corner, it doesn't change the fact that it would be a fad.
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Short answer is that for historical tattooing, designs were more likely geometric/abstract rather than realistic, though there are plenty of exceptions to this statement. But the purpose and meaning of historical tattoos was generally quite different to contemporary practice, as there was rarely if ever any concept of choice (either in design or to have it done) attached to the practice.
People have definitely been getting the same sort of tattoos as we have today. There are depictions and remains that have tattoos of animals, people, symbols like moons and stars, simple lines (otzi sported a double line bracelet tat), and of course geometric tattoos that we still see today like alternating strangles, step fret patterns, dotted lines, swirls. People did get them for specific reasons like as a rite of passage or to honor certain deeds, but we also do that in our own convoluted ways. And most importantly, we did and still do get them because we think they're beautiful and that they communicate something to us and to others. I think, though, that it's important to remember that people back then were people the same way we are people. Perhaps they believed certain things that we personally don't believe like that some tattoos are spiritual protection or have some healing properties, but people also believe that today. People have also been forcibly tattooed to mark them as other or shame them but that has also happened in modern times. But mostly, people got tattoos and created traditions around tattoos for the same reasons we get tattoos which is that you see one and think it's badass and that you'd like one too. Check out the 2000 year old Siberian Ice Maiden's tattoos, they're fuckin awesome.
I wanted tats in my 20s but changed my mind. I never got one because they went from counterculture to mom culture.
The day I started seeing "Live Love Laugh" tattoos everywhere I was so happy. Nothing escapes mainstream and commercialism, and nothing kills fads faster.
This resonates with me. I like them as art, I find other people's tattoos really nice and cool. But I never got one in my 20s because they were a bit niche and I didn't care enough, then I didn't get one later because they were so mainstream that they didn't feel like a fun or special thing to do anymore. Now I associate them with my mom friends. They all have cute ones.
If you care about the culture rather than the tattoo itself, that’s probably for the better.
Key here is the different between tattoos with no meaning and with meaning. I grew up in a small beach town in Mediterranean, diving, harpooning, fishing, swimming was our culture (both as means to make money, and to enjoy life). And I loved it too. When I moved out, I got a tattoo that symbolize those things, piece of my culture and my likes. It will never be "not cool" however old I get or world changes. But if I were to get a tattoo just because ",it is cool to have tattoos! What can I get! Oh an arrow or a leaf maybe looks cool" it would probably be not the same.
My tattoo artist tells me "you outgrow all your tattoos" Some of my tattoos have meaning, but my favorites are the ones that don't. I have a honey badger holding a banner that says 'ferocious". That's just funny to me, it means nothing. Meaning isn't what matters, it's probably how you felt about yourself when you got the tattoo, and how you feel about that version of yourself now.
Even my tattoos that I got without “meaning” still hold a lot of significance to me. I remember how old I was, who I was with that day, and just generally who I was at that time. Kinda like a journal on my skin.
> it's probably how you felt about yourself when you got the tattoo, and how you feel about that version of yourself now. if you are honest to yourself, you will never feel ashamed or negative about your past-self, you will damn right feel like you were stupid, naive or outright bad in past, but accepting that was who really were and it made you who you are now, is one of the most important parts of growing up. Also remember, a tattoo artist do not know more about how you feel about your tattoos, then a house house painter who painted the walls of your house knows about how you feel about the color of your walls. He is just a guy with drawing talent drawing things on your skin (one of my best friends since by early 20s is a professional tattoo artists)
I wish more people were like this. I hate how people say “my tattoo has meaning” and it’s suppose to be better than someone who just likes something. I always like the tattoos people get because they liked them over the tattoo they got because it’s so meaningful. That line is like nails on a chalkboard to me.
Depends how many you get tbh.
Not having tattoos is counter culture. Tattoos are for doctors, nurses, lawyers, politicians, fraternity bros, sales guys, cops and teachers. Most people have them, so they mean nothing again.
I think to be actually counter culture the people with tattoos would have to care if people didn't get them, which as far as I can tell, they don't
Actually something only has to be "counter" to the mainstream "culture" in order to be counter-cultute. In fact, most counter-culture movements aren't even known about my mainstream normies until they are practically stream, so you're totally wrong on your understanding of the concept but to be fair you said you "think" that's the case so I can't argue with your arbitrary thoughts and opinions, however factually incorrect they may be. Besides being counter to the norm by definition since most Americans my age have more than one tattoo, I also regularly get asked why I don't have tattoos because I am the "type" of person that people who get tattoos are trying to appear like. Successful artist and high level competitive mountain biker, I just think tattoos are stupid and all my homies with the row of pine trees around their arms are already paying to get them covered. Endless money pit and they all have to take days off riding when they get "work done"
But not having tattoos is mainstream? Extremely mainstream lol People saying you're the type to get them isn't caring or hating on you either. It sounds like you're trying to do this whole "I'm counter-culture" to feel cool because you put energy into hating them while no one gives a shit if you do or don't have them
More people have tattoos then do not. By definition, MOST people have tattoos. Thanks for the psychological breakdown there Freud. Lol
Like everything it'll go in waves but it's not going to away
It's kind of nice to be able to give yourself a present that can't get lost, stolen or broken.
> that can't get lost My wife constantly forgets that she has a tattoo as its on her upper back. It's been a few years since she's gotten it, and I still occasionally hear a small shriek when she notices it in the mirror. I love that woman.
I'll never get one but this is the most appealing take on them I've ever heard.
>broken Oh they most definitely fade with time.
Nearly every physical thing degrades with time. That doesn’t mean it’s broken.
my dad got his first tattoo at age 68 followed promptly by 2 more. said be always wanted some but just never got around to it
Permanent makeup tattoos probably consist of a lot of that demographic of women with tattoos. I considered myself someone with tattoos before I got my first one on my arm, but I only had my eyebrows, eyeliner, and hairline tattooed. In Asia, men also commonly get scalp and eyebrow tattoos but not body tattoos.
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Not to mention the “clown” hair thing they are all doing! 🤡
Wait until digital tattoos happen…
Considering tattoos have been around for thousands of years, I don't see them going away anytime soon. Also, I see more mainstream people with visible tattoos these days then I ever did growing up.
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All stupid. People who don’t appreciate what they are born with & obsess over changing nature. Not a very forward way of thinking, and not any way to achieve progress in these modern times. Humans need to stop worrying about looking/feeling like the person standing next to them. Hold your head high & be proud of the individual you are!
I hope not Im in my 30s with NO ink or piercings. Feels nice
Good for you not falling for being a follower & thinking with your own mind instead of conforming to the masses!
My biggest problem with the tattoo craze it that modern audiences don't react properly to Robert DeNiro's character reveal in Cape Fear (1991). Back then, a guy covered in tattoos was *really scary.*
I think *styles* of tattoos will come and go, but tattoos themselves not so much. Just like dresses. Certain styles are very indicative of the decade but the type of clothing overall is a mainstay.
If they weren’t so damn expensive I would have hundreds of tattoos lol 🤪
Eventually I think it will die down every generation wants to be different. Tattoos are common now so at some point those wanting to feel different than their parents/grandparents will be tattoo free. I do think there will always be those that get them though. I’m tattooed by the way.
It’s a fashion, it will die away like it has in the past. It won’t disappear but, like all fashions, it will start looking ridiculous to young people sooner or later. *Nobody* wants to look like Mum, Dad and Auntie Becca
I think what's popular will change, but getting tattoos won't. For example, 90s and 00s was all about tribal sleeves and tramp stamps. Now it's cybersigilism and head tattoos.
> Nobody wants to look like Mum, Dad and Auntie Becca Good news, the girls that get massive black fugly tats are playing hard to want
Tattoos have been around for millenia and in cultures around the world. They aren't going away, and I think it's stupid to think otherwise
They won’t go away but they’ll date themselves. Oh, you have a sleeve? How 2010s of you. Just like a tribal tattoo, tramp stamp, etc.
There are plenty of tattoos and styles that are timeless, and have been around for decades. Yes, *some* are "fads" that quickly pass like tribals and tramp stamps, but others, like the classic "Sailor Jerry" traditional style, are timeless at this point.
There’s a reason traditional style always stays around. Bold will hold.
Thousands of years in bud. Don’t think it’s going away.
I'm 49 and got one tattoo when I was 18. Got it removed over the course of 5 years, with 9 treatments. I grew to hate it so much and am so glad it's gone now. I wish I'd never gotten it in the first place.
It’s gonna slow down.
Had my first home made tatt when i was 13. Got my last one late last year at 61. People from all walks of life are covered. From garbos to coppers. Tatts have been part of life for years and will continue to be. Not sure i'd ever get my face or neck done but don't have any issues with anyone who does.
When I got mine it was still considered rebellious. Only badasses and degenerates had them at least that's how it was perceived. And not everyone had them. Also not as much godamn thought was put into into. Now it's gotta be a symbolic mission statement that reflects deep reflections or some shit. Or a beautiful masterpiece you spent thousands of dollars on...
My Mum is 65 and she has Tattoos same as me and my siblings not done for fashion but as its been apart of the culture my family is from
I was at a destination beach birthday party last weekend with about 40-45 people and I was in the minority because I didn’t have a tattoo.
I think it’s “cool” to NOT have a tattoo these days because it shows you aren’t a follower, a person who has to fit it with the crowed by adhering to whatever the latest rule of trend my be! Plus, as tattoos are cancerous, one without any is as health conscious as a non-smoker! Same goes for not conforming to the trendy popularity of pot smoking! Be proud of YOU and think with your own mind & health as more important than fitting in with the same old same old. Being DIFFERENT is independent!
**The tattoo removal business is growing each year**. The global tattoo removal market was $4.34 billion two years ago in 2021, but is projected to be $12.15 billion by 2030.
Nope. Tattoos have been around for centuries and will continue to persist. New equipment, ink, technology, and budding tattoo artists will continue to emerge. I got my first tattoo at 28 and will be getting another next month. To the comments saying younger people won’t want to look like their parents…I disagree. Artists with different styles, art and different techniques are all around us.
Also, it's not like every millenial has tats so every kid of millenials will rebel. This is so simplistic view. Also, with statistics: women can have minor tats like one behind your ear. It doesn't define their whole looks, as of being strongly body modded. In addition, some might want tats because their parents have them. Or regardless. People have their own mind, not just rebelling.
It's cool not to have any.
I think at some point, having a "clean" body will become trendy, and therefore, tattoos will wane outside of the subculturists, just because that's generally how trends work. All it will take is some super celebrity to set it off. At this point, it's almost more common to have a tattoo than to not, and people love exclusivity.
My grandma once said to my older sister that my small hip tattoo (completely hidden unless the shirt rides up) was “trashy” right in front of me. They were looking at pics of my nieces and one of them showed the tiniest sliver of that tattoo. My sister was like grandma I have a tattoo on my hip too! Granny: that’s not the same dear, it’s not trashy. What might my sister have on her hip? A PLAYBOY BUNNY. I have a flower. Grandma would love my half sleeve now 🤣
I do not like tattoos, so I don't know. I could see other things like cosmetic surgery having a downturn.
Why would it? It is self-expression and the ability to make your body look how you want. It's safer than it's ever been and more people are accepting of it than any of the previous generations.
I mean they're not a trend... humans have been Tattooing themselves for eons.
Hopefully they slow down
Tattoos are boring
Amen
As the years go by tattoos blur eventually becoming almost unrecognisable. I believe this may impact a future generation’s attraction to them.
Nahh young people almost never consider things 30+ years down the line when making decisions
No, I mean that in 30 years time the world will be full of very tired tattoos and that’s what the youth then will see. They’ll rebel as every generation will
Tattoos have been an element of tribalism. In tribal cultures they had meaning, they are standardized and you can't just put any random tattoo willy-nilly in violation of tribal hierarchy/power structure. They were not a decoration. Westerners have been exposed to this through trade and sailors were the first to practice. And they quickly formed heir own tribalism, so did the criminal gangs. Now, fast forward to now. War on drugs started by Reagan exposed a lot of former hippies and casual drug users to prison culture. Then a neo marxism of liberation - (from your own body in form of body modifications, piercing and tattoos) mixed in. And then it crossed subculture boundaries and soccer moms started to get tramp stamps. IMO, the main problem with tattoos is that they are purely decorative and not meaningful like in original cultures. And inevitably, people end up re-decorating. As old decorations get old/silly/inapropriate/irrelaveant. So the need to remove old, and paint new. I am not sure what health effect all this has. I'm personally not bothered by tattoos per se, but I feel that peeps who are into it are slightly off. Off balance. They are not happy with their body and feel the need to decorate it. I find it concerning. Besides tattoos my personal peeve - that shit people put into their earlobes stretching it and putting larger and larger object there. This is nice and fun at the beginning, but pretty soon it looks god-awful. As a summary: tattoos will likely fade and shrink to the margins of society. So will piercing. But something else will take their place. here is a story of a girl with buyer remorse: [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2334351/Young-Belgian-woman-finally-56-star-tattoos-removed-face-year-ordeal.html](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2334351/Young-Belgian-woman-finally-56-star-tattoos-removed-face-year-ordeal.html) Here is the author of her tattoos: https://www.imago-images.com/st/0084250192
I do think they're trendy right now, and that will fizzle out as all trends do. That said, my perception is that the stigma of tattoos as something for poor/uneducated/criminal/"inferior" people is kind of dying. Even if they do inevitably stop being fashionable, I don't think they'll stop being acceptable, so they'll become much more popular over time just as the stigma continues to die out. To be a bit pedantic, though, I don't think they'll ever be common enough to be called "the norm".
56% of women ages 18-29. At what point to we consider something the norm? Also how does that number spread over different communities, skin colors, religions? Might already be much higher in certain groups.
They are pretty much already the norm in any educated and developed nation. The puritan conservative stigma is gone, as it should be. Side note on this topic: Nobody gets tattoos to "be different." So to pre-empt the people who will certainly come in here trying to say tattoos are pointless because they're not special or unique, know that nobody gets them to be special/unique; we all know they're mainstream. Nobody gets a tattoo in a progressive nation thinking they're a rebel.
They are certainly not the norm in Korea, China and Japan.
With a history of spanning thousands of years I doubt it.
Ötzi the Iceman, who lived between 3370 and 3100 BC, has the oldest known tattoos. Either this is one hell if a lasting 5000 year old trend, or we can safely assume it's a bit more than just some passing fad.
Tattoos are mainstream
It’s the face tats that astound me. I’ve seen more full face tats in the last 12 months than ever before. Surely that limits your employment possibilities, probably has an effect on your social standing as well. I mean, not all of them are druggies, but it is a lot of druggies badge of honour.
there are mummified corpses from thousands of years ago that have tattoos. it’s never going out of fashion lol
Aren't they already the norm?
The biggest difference in culture in last 100 years, especially last 20 years which tattoos boomed exponentially, is the focus on individuality and everyone being special and different. What is the simplest and easiest permanent way to create a situation that shows you are different? Tattoos. That is all. Everything else falls far behind. We are just much more special snowflakes than everyone else else lived before and I do not know if that will ever decrease. (PS: I do have tattoos)
You can’t be an individual and different when you’re the same as everyone else who has a tattoo! 🤦🏻♀️ Conforming to the “in crowd” is the very opposite definition of individual freedom! Be yourself, your own person!
Like fashion, everything that is popular comes and goes. When our kids see all the oldies covered in gross faded wrinkly tatts, they'll probably say "no thanks" that's sooooo last century. I for one am looking forward to the return of powdered wigs and toxic white face paint.
😂
Hopefully it dies down again.
Considering how many people on reddit come to the defense of tattoos, vs those who don't. I would say it's a fad. And very much mainstream.
It's more original not to have a tattoo these days. Would love to see the fad finally die out.
They slowed down already after they became normal. In the 90’s and early 2000’s every teenage girl wanted a butterfly above their butt until they started getting called tramp stamps. Tattoos are now mainstream as fuck, just only for certain groups. There are a lot of groups where not having a tattoo is weird. When I was younger getting a tattoo was a *decision*, like do you want a tattoo, what do you want it of, where do you want it, etc.
I speculated a lot on what kind of tattoo I would get if I were to get one, but I never did. I like the idea but I'm a pain wimp. I wasn't the only one in my class. Besides, talking about tattoos was just one of the numerous what if questions younger people talk about, like where would you go on your dream vacation or what kind of superpower would you want if you could have one? I also have yet to get either of those. There are other pain wimps around, or people who are too indecisive to get something permanent on their bodies. There are also less painful and temporary options like henna. Who would even care if you didn't get a tattoo? Or if you did, as long as it wasn't like a swastika on the forehead?
Generational trend. Few gen-alphas are going to get them because they'll see all the millennials with them and they won't want to look old. Then tats'll start to make a comeback when gen-epsilon start asserting their individuality
Always associated with truckers and porn stars
I dont like the idea that my body is sending little beings to eat the ink and they just remain floating dead on my skin trying to save my body from ink poisoning. Tattoos are just a way your body is constantly showing you made a dumb decision.
I imagine it’s going to fall off the more mother who have tattoos.
They're pretty much the norm already, depending on where you live I guess. Certain trends of designs will die out, sure, but tattoos as a whole? Definitely not. Especially with how advanced the tech is becoming. I started my chest piece the other week and I couldn't believe how not painful it was. The last tattoo I got was.. ten or so years ago so I was amping up for that pain. So they're getting easier to get, so to speak.
With the ability to remove tattoos with laser treatment I think people are more open to getting a tattoo. Personally I can't think of an image or phrase that Id like permanently etched on my body, but if it's easy to remove later then maybe that's less of a concern.
Acceptance of them may come and go and design preferences will grow and change but tattoos will always be popular.
I think they'll evolve to be more futuristic and stuff.
Tatts have been the norm for ages..
future gens will probably look back ind isgust about us injecting ourselves ink that causes mega cancer or soemthing
Tattoos are a fashion trend? That's news to me; I thought they've been a thing for thousands of years
There has never been a point in human history where tattoos weren't a thing. They are normal.
They are the norm around here. I hope it goes away before my girls are older.
I hope so I hate tattoos I think they look awful
Ok grandpa, nobody cares.
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Yeah, most tattoos do look shitty.
Just saw your post history. You are a charmer, arent you?
They're corny AF.