Teenagers are confused most of the time as well as rebellious, but they wish to have control in their lives. Tattoos make them feel that they can control everything by making body alterations. There is a relationship between teenagers and tattoos and it is established for numerous reasons. However, the most prominent ones are identity and body, ownership and permanence.
Moreover, teenagers need to feel ownership when it comes to memories in their lives and when it comes to their bodies. They want to personalize their bodies because it has a specific meaning for them. Another thing is that they want to cherish some personal moment all the time and have them drawn on their skin. Tattoos: “strive for incorporation, with images and abstract symbols gaining substance on becoming a permanent part of individual’s skin” (Martin 369). Incorporation means that the events will be incorporated and brought to life on a teenager’s skin which is important for them. It is also important for them to think about their own identity and to make sure they keep their dearest memories where they can see them. They want other people to see their memories as well which is why they show them to the world. All of the tattoos have a deep meaning and ownership is the reason for which the teenagers decide to get tattoos. They usually get more than one tattoos because they want to mark all of their dearest memories.
Finally, another reason for tattooing of teenagers is the wish for permanence in the world where nothing lasts. For example, sometimes, the only evidence of a certain relationship between two people is the tattoo because people’s memories are not trustworthy. Tattoos are permanent and they are the evidence of the existence of something that seized to exist. This is what teenagers need so that they could feel the stability in life and it happens when they feel the need to take charge of their own lives which they do by having parts of their bodies tattooed. “Tattoos can be a readily available source of grounding. Tattoos, unlike many relationships, can promise permanence and stability” (Martin 370). This is what is most important for the young people who are still going through the different phases of growing up.
There is nothing wrong with tattooing as art and teenagers can get tattoos if they believe this will make them happy. They usually do not regret getting tattoos and they can even have them removed later in life if their feeling towards an issue or a memory changes. Being a teenager is not easy, but it is a part of growing up, which means that it is necessary for all the people to go through difficult periods in life. Everybody has the need for stability and permanence in life and tattooing is a good solution for such people because it makes them feel that they have control over their lives. However, it is best to think well and long enough before being permanently inked.
Works Cited
Martin, Andres. "On Teenager and Tattoos." The Prentice Hall Reader . Ed. George E. Miller. 11th ed. London: Pearson, 2014. Print.
