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(New York, NY) – There was a time when very few people had tattoos. At the very least, they weren’t commonly seen — as people who had them tended to restrict their “ink” to hidden places. Maybe a little rose on an ankle, Mickey Mouse on the back left shoulder, or “mom” with a heart on the bicep. Nowadays? It seems like everyone has tats — and they are very visible.
Over the past 10 or 20 years, tattoos became more visible in certain circles — such as professional athletes, rappers, and rockers. The entire process of getting inked up became more accepted and mainstream. But will that slide back in the other direction? According to one TikTok content creator, it could happen sooner than you think.
Ashley Bez lives in Brooklyn. And at 41-years-old, she has a prediction: Gen Z will be the last generation with lots of tattoos.
Bez explains that her five-year-old niece likes to wear stickers and fake tattoos all over her body, emulating the inked-up adults she sees on a day-to-day basis. So does that mean what is cool now, won’t be cool later? Few kids growing up in the 1990s or early 2000s saw many adults with sleeves of tattoos up and down their arms. Face tattoos were unheard of. Now that ink is so mainstream — kids might not think its so cool when they’re adults. At least, that’s what Bez thinks, telling Newsweek: “I have no idea what the hell I’m talking about… (but) I’m glad it started a conversation and resonated with people.”
There are other (less cultural) practical reasons to rethink tattoos. As with cell phone use, processed foods, e-cigarettes, and Ozempic — many popular and mainstream practices also carry unknown or unclear medical risks. While it’s generally accepted that tattoos don’t pose a major health risk, some researchers aren’t sure.
A study put together by the Department of Public Health and the Department of Clinical Research at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), in partnership with the University of Helsinki, looked at tattoos and cancer risk. Analyzing Danish twins, the study found that tattooed individuals exhibit a higher tendency toward skin and lymphoma cancers. The belief is the ink may be traveling to the lymph nodes, increasing that risk. Researchers took advantage of the Danish Twin Tattoo Cohort, including information from more than 5,900 Danish twins.
So between the decreasing popularity, and potential health risk — tattoos could fade into obscurity over the coming years. Maybe it will just be bikers and sailors getting inked in 2055. By then, instead of Brooklyn hipsters with whiskers ‘inking people up” — it might be a robot named “needles” using AI.
