Tattoos has been found more popular among young people recently. Why is it so? What are your views? Write a blog entry, with the title “Tattoo? Mmm…”.
Tattoo? Mmm…
If you’ve been following her on Instagram, you’ll know that my beloved supermodel Cara Delevingne has just got a new tattoo. Besides celebrities, I’m seeing more and more young netizens posting their own tattoos on social networks. It seems that tattoo is more popular among young people recently. What actually makes the trend?
Like myself, young people love and want to follow their favourite idols, as I talked about in the last post. If our famous stars are doing so, why not we? Some young ones want to be as cool as the celebrities so they just get a tattoo. It is not uncommon to see stars covering lots of tattoos and it is often widespread in the media. Cara’s new tattoo actually came from her upcoming anti-hero movie Suicide Squad. Her co-stars and she all got the matching tattoo ‘SKWAD’. It didn’t only display the co-stars’ love, but received high attention. Such group tattooing of celebrities further inculcates the message that tattoo is cool into the young’s minds. To be honest, I had a bit of impulse to be inked when I saw Cara’s pretty tattoo! Celebrities contribute to ones’ initiatives of being tattooed, but the immaturity of young people also drives them to tattoo without consideration.
Yet, having a tattoo is more than being the cool kid, but it could generate a great impact on one’s future. It is even possible to get blood-borne diseases like Hepatitis B and HIV if you walk into a badly hygienic tattoo parlour. Sounds scary? But some young people just neglect such potential dangers. Some are also heedless of the fact that tattoo may deter them from landing a serious job. They want to look cool now, but their future older selves may regret this decision. I do think there are some young people who get a tattoo after thorough thinking, yet many of them aren’t mature enough to consider the consequences.
If you ask me, I’d say I’m a supporter for tattoo. But when it comes to young people, I can’t raise a 100% ‘YES’. Tattoo is absolutely a great form of art and young people should have deep thoughts before contemplating being inked.
The status of tattoo as an art is rising now. From the symbol of gangsters to modern aesthetic presentation, tattoo has evolved to a popular form of art. Have you seen any photo gallery of tattoos? I was simply amazed by the creations. Tattoo Temple, a famous local tattoo parlour, its motto is You have to be an artist before you be an tattoo artist. Tattoo is also a great way speaking volumes about yourself. The sharp lines and vivid colours can express a strong message. Of course, I’m not talking about foreigners inked with nonsense Chinese characters that they don’t even know their meaning. I think it’s totally up to everyone how they’d like to show themselves, as long as they fully understand the consequences of tattoo.
As for the influence on careers, it’s true that inked young men may lose some job opportunities. In Hong Kong, people generally put a bad stigma on tattoo. It’s hard to imagine local teachers or lawyers displaying tattoos on their forearms. However, not everyone on earth has to get a serious job and not everyone is so conservative. People working at the design and media field look smart and fine with tattoo. But if you are open to all career choices, it’s better not to get inked, or at least have a looming one.
Tattoo is all cool and fun, but not something off-the-cuff. Young people should think carefully whether they want to be inked permanently on their skin. Choose a tattoo parlour with good reputation and remember, don’t get a tattoo until 18!
Christie Yuen Yin Kiu
6E 2015-16