Why Do People Get Tattoos?

On that warm and sunny day, I decided to have a tattoo on my shoulder. It took me months to decide, so I was a bit nervous. I sat there, quiet and unmoving, for an hour while a strange man repeatedly stabbed me with sharp needles on my shoulder. I was getting a tattoo. My friend Claire had recently got a tattoo, and I was so impressed by her bravery and the tattoo that she had on her body. Getting a tattoo because your friends and peers have them is just one of the reasons why a lot of young people get tattoos. Peer pressure, media influence and personal expression are some of the common reasons for wearing tattoos today.

Sometimes wearing a tattoo can be a sign that you belong to a certain group. Gangs often use special clothes and tattoos to identify their particular group. For example, in one gang, all the members may wear green jackets and have large ‘Xs’ tattooed on their arms. It is not only gangs that have this type of special ‘uniform’. Young people often belong to a certain group of friends. Some of these groups wear only brand-name clothes. Some wear only black clothes; others wear tattoos. When a person’s friends are all doing something, such as getting a tattoo, that person is more likely to do the same thing and get a tattoo, too.

The media is another big influence behind the popularity of tattoos. A wide variety of media images show tattoos. Tattoos can be seen on people appearing in commercials selling expensive cars. Famous sporting heroes with tattoos are shown in magazines. Fashion models are often seen in magazines and on TV wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and colourful patterns. These media images link tattoos to ideas of wealth, success and high social status. As a result, many people decide to get a tattoo for its fashion and status value.

It is not always the influence of other people or the media that results in a person getting a tattoo. Many people also decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs or their feelings—in other words, to show their individuality. I had my husband’s name written on my shoulder. That was a way – for me – to tell the world how much I loved him.

As you can see, there are many reasons why people get tattoos. A tattoo can be part of a group’s uniform. It can be a sign of fashion. It can be an expression of feelings. The decision to get a tattoo is most often a result of the influence of friends or the media or the desire to express oneself. For me, it was an expression of what I felt in my heart.