Are Tattoos Addictive?
Scientists have attempted to explain whether or not the rush of getting a tattoo is addictive.
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It's a question that's been asked by many in the tattoo community. It can divide a room with evidence supporting both sides, but scientists are still attempting to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, whether or not getting tattoos is addictive.
People with many tattoos will tell you that it's a kind of euphoric experience. The pain of the tattoo, the plans for the next one, the beauty of it all, it can lead to people getting way more tattoos than they originally intended.
On the other hand, there are people who get one tattoo and that's it. No more after that one experience. They feel complete and whole by only getting body art once.
Which is why scientists are trying to explain the phenomenon around tattoos.
Tattoo artist tattooing a customer.
Kirby Farrell, P.h.D. wrote in Psychology Today, "Tattoos idealize youth and fertility by drawing eyes to youthful skin and often erotic parts of the body. We're social animals. It's how we're built... We rely on social behavior — attention — to substantiate us and make us feel real."
Farrell went on to postulate that we get tattoos for attention, and the attention we receive is addictive. Therefore, getting tattoos isn't necessarily addictive, but the attention we get is.
It's hard to argue with this assumption. It's a big reason why Instagram, Vine, and Twitter celebrities exist. The obsession with likes and attention feeds our current social climate, but that doesn't mean that tattoos specifically are addictive. You can get the same sort of attention from wearing a fancy hat or garish shoes. It doesn't explain whether or not tattoos themselves are addictive.
Giving a customer a tattoo.
Viren Swami, a professor at Anglia Ruskin University gave a different explanation. "I think that the short answer is that we don’t know," Dr. Swami told ATTN. "We don’t know whether it’s a real thing or not. And most people who study it suggest that it’s too early in terms of the research where tattoos specifically are a form of addiction."
Swami states that there isn't enough evidence to support the theory that tattoo addiction is a real thing. So, it looks like we have our answer! As with most things in these cases...
We don't know yet! We'll wait for more evidence! And then some contradicting evidence will come in, and we'll have to rethink it all over again. Hooray!
Tattooing.
Maybe in the next 20 years or so we will have a definitive answer, but until then, the jury is still out. As are the professors and scientists studying this stuff. And now, I'm out. Hold on let me do the Ryan Seacrest thing...
People with many tattoos will tell you that it's a kind of euphoric experience. The pain of the tattoo, the plans for the next one, the beauty of it all, it can lead to people getting way more tattoos than they originally intended.
On the other hand, there are people who get one tattoo and that's it. No more after that one experience. They feel complete and whole by only getting body art once.
Which is why scientists are trying to explain the phenomenon around tattoos.
Tattoo artist tattooing a customer.
Kirby Farrell, P.h.D. wrote in Psychology Today, "Tattoos idealize youth and fertility by drawing eyes to youthful skin and often erotic parts of the body. We're social animals. It's how we're built... We rely on social behavior — attention — to substantiate us and make us feel real."
Farrell went on to postulate that we get tattoos for attention, and the attention we receive is addictive. Therefore, getting tattoos isn't necessarily addictive, but the attention we get is.
It's hard to argue with this assumption. It's a big reason why Instagram, Vine, and Twitter celebrities exist. The obsession with likes and attention feeds our current social climate, but that doesn't mean that tattoos specifically are addictive. You can get the same sort of attention from wearing a fancy hat or garish shoes. It doesn't explain whether or not tattoos themselves are addictive.
Giving a customer a tattoo.
Viren Swami, a professor at Anglia Ruskin University gave a different explanation. "I think that the short answer is that we don’t know," Dr. Swami told ATTN. "We don’t know whether it’s a real thing or not. And most people who study it suggest that it’s too early in terms of the research where tattoos specifically are a form of addiction."
Swami states that there isn't enough evidence to support the theory that tattoo addiction is a real thing. So, it looks like we have our answer! As with most things in these cases...
We don't know yet! We'll wait for more evidence! And then some contradicting evidence will come in, and we'll have to rethink it all over again. Hooray!
Tattooing.
Maybe in the next 20 years or so we will have a definitive answer, but until then, the jury is still out. As are the professors and scientists studying this stuff. And now, I'm out. Hold on let me do the Ryan Seacrest thing...
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