DEFINE TEENAGERS. DO YOU MEAN 18 AND UNDER? 19 AND UNDER? WHAT IS A LEGAL ADULT, ACCORDING TO MCELWAIN? CAN YOU DISCUSS THE MEANING BEHIND REGAN’S TATTOOS?
Do you have a tattoo? How big is it? How old were you when you got inked? Teenagers’ brains are still developing yet they are making lifelong decisions about their bodies.
I spoke to many people around the school, including teachers and students, about their opinions on whether or not teenagers should get tattoos. The first person I interviewed was chemistry teacher Barbara McElwain. She said that parents shouldn’t make–or allow their children to make–a decision that is permanent at such a young age. She thinks a person should be a legal adult (18) unable to blame their parent(s) if they end up regretting a tattoo.
I also spoke with Health Occupations adviser Margaret Dodd, whose opinion was similar to McElwain’s, which is interesting since the former has tattoos and the latter does not. “Teenagers like one thing one day and another thing two days later,” Dodd said, “so if a teenager were to go get something that they like today, who is to say they will like it in 4 or 5 years?”
The first student I interviewed was junior Sadie Bostic, who does have tattoos. Since they are easily influenced by people and things around them, she thinks that teens should be 17 or 18 before getting a tattoo. In her opinion, however, there should not be a size limitation, because if someone is going to get a tattoo they should get one that they really want.
Junior Matthew Ward, who has no tattoos, was the second student I interviewed. He feels that a person should be 18 or a young adult before they get a tattoo. He said that tattoos, which in his opinion are not good for the skin, “only look cool; they don’t provide you with anything.” He also said a size limitation is a good idea because tattoos should be small and able to be covered.
My opinion about teenagers getting tattoos is that it is their body and their decision, but they should think long and hard about whether they really want a tattoo, and if there is any meaning behind it. I think they should consider the cost, the pain, and that tattoos are for a lifetime.
