Changing views of body art?

[chris]

I read a post on a website today about how people change as they get older. The short of the story is that the older people get, the more they either regret or dislike the tattoos that they got at a younger age or a different stage in their life. Personally, I have no problem with my tattoos and I will regard them the same way today as I will in 30 years. What do you think?

[Aldisimo]

I think you'll have to wait 30 years to see whether that's true!

Seriously though, those people with late-in-life tattoo regret thought they'd love the work in 30 years too. However, I do think that the environment today is different: tattooing is legal, it's considered by many to be a form of art rather than just a form of rebellion, people are more confident of living [with themselves] longer, and they have a realistic concept of what that life will be like. So ... with a little less need to just get through the day, they can plan a little more for the future.

[Mary]

I know a lot of people that regret their tattoos and I'm sorry but everyone I've seen is something to be regretted. Almost universally the pieces are small, not well done, and were added on at the spur of the moment. The opposite of this are the people that spend obsessive amounts of time looking at reference images, and tattoo portfolios long before they ever get that new piece. Having a relaxed view of your body as well also helps. One of my friends got a small silly piece, and she admits it doesn't look that great but she just laughs it off and doesn't worry about it.

[jude]

I feel the exact same way as you G

[chris]

that's kind of what i was alluding to when i wrote it. not the fact that i may hate them, only because when you're old, you hate everything.

[Erin]

Exactly.

I also think in general the more heavily tattooed, do not regret their tattoos as much later in life. I know quite a few older people (60+) with full body suits (or a fair amount of coverage) who still love them!

[Sheila]

I have to wonder if these people experienced some regret when they initally got the tattoo. I have many pieces and I love most of them. I have maybe two pieces that I am not that much in love with but only because NOW I have more education so I would do them differently but I still love them.
As I am pushing 40, I hope that I still have the appreciation for the work on my body when I get older that I did when I first received it. I try to be diligent about taking care of my skin so that it looks good. And I think that even if I am no longer in love with it I can still appreciate the story behind it.
I think that maybe some of those individuals that dislike their pieces picked them in haste without thought and consideration. Possibly they didn't take of their skin; or, the pieces were poorly executed.

[Alex]

I'm particularly vulnerable to this argument because of my age. I'm CONSTANTLY being told that I will absolutely regret every last one of my tattoos. Not that I "might" regret them, oh no but that I "will" regret them. It makes my blood boil, because obviously all these people are mind readers.

I'm aware that I'm young but in my opinion I'm not going to regret them... I say this with some small level of confidence (although in all honesty: who knows what the future will bring) as I have had a tattoo that I regretted. I got it done on a whim out of the desire to have "another tattoo" rather than a desire for the specific design - I can say that I hated it from the first day I had it done. I'm having it worked in to my backpiece and have come to love it in that particular context.

I also wonder how many of these people who regret their tattoos actually weren't that keen on them all along but only started admitting to their mistakes once they grew up a bit?

I totally agree that I've never met a heavily tattooed person who regrets their artwork - every single person I've met who has regretted their tattoos had small flash pieces, I guess that's a part of why people claim that "everyone" regrets their tattoos eventually - the people saying this generally don't know anyone with big, well thought out, custom pieces.

[Dana]

I agree...I get a lot of the same comments because of my age. And it's definitely the people with very small flash tattoos or no tattoos that say these comments.

I seriously doubt that I'm going to regret something that makes me feel beautiful every time I look in the mirror. And even if one day I don't feel that it makes me more beautiful than I'll remember all the years that it did and that will be enough.

I will always be art....I'm not going to regret that.

[Jess]

Absolutely! I never get tired of looking at my tattoos, even the ones that are a little screwed up. And if some day for whatever reason my opinion changes, my tattoos still tell the story of where I was and what I was doing at that point in my life.

[Alex]

Yep. A lot of the arguments I get are along the lines of "Well what if you look at your tattoos and you don't want to remember that time in your life?"

Frankly if I don't want to remember the whole of my 20s then I've got more problems than just some ink on skin!

[Jess]

LOL I'd just reply with "yeah, Altzheimer's does run in the family" haha! Damn people, just have to hate for no reason!! They're just jealous that they aren't as beautiful and TOUGH as we all are ;)

[Mary]

I love when people say "aren't you worried what other people think" so I'll reply along the lines of well I've never really cared about what strangers think of my appearance. And then someone will say well you'll worry more as you get older.....and here I thought you were supposed to become more secure with age, not more shallow.