Are Tattoos An Addiction?
The longtime connection between tattoos and individuals of questionable
character is not the sole account for why tattoos are frequently given
a bad reputation. While of course this connection, which is becoming less
and less of a factor as each generation progresses, has been true in many
circumstances, the subject of tattoos in the present day has yet another
cloud over its reputation; it is darker, and rarely based on the truth.
From both those who know and those who do not, there are frequent insinuations
about the "addictive" characteristics of tattooing. Many people sport
multiple tattoos; some have acquired them over a number of years or decades,
while others make regular trips to their favorite tattoo studios, but
arbitrarily labeling this as an "addiction" is unfair, unrealistic, and
rarely based in fact. As each person has his or her own individual reason
for getting tattoos, it is impossible to know what a person's reason is
unless he or she states it. Some like artwork, some wish to honor a special
person, some get tattoos in order to feel a part of some specific group,
some people just enjoy spending money. In other words, most people have
their own individual reasons for getting tattoos, and it is almost never
a matter of being "addicted" to them.
There are two parts of this misconception. Both play a role in giving
a bad reputation to the subject of tattoos as well as to the people who
elect to get them. The first is that people are addicted to the tattoos
themselves; the second misconception is that people are addicted to the
process of getting them-- specifically, that they are "addicted to pain."
One might wonder the mindset of anyone who states the latter opinion;
but it certainly provides quite a scope of misunderstandings on the entire
subject.
One tattoo artist, in remarking that tattoos are a "fever," had been
referring to the simple, if odd, enjoyment which many of his clients had
in being able to spend money to buy permanent artwork for themselves.
"I think I'll get another one" was something often heard in his studio.
This did not constitute "addiction" by any definition of the word. Nor,
in his decades of practice as a tattoo artist, did he ever have a customer
who even remotely enjoyed the discomfort of the tattooing process.
The word, and its mistaken applicability to tattoos, is often tossed around
by those who know too well what the word "addiction" really means. Addiction
is a compulsion, something over which a person has no self-control. Addiction
cannot differentiate between a "want" and a "need." Individuals who do
have numerous addictions-- drugs, alcohol, behaviors, etc.-- can very
well become addicted to tattoos. However, that is certainly not the case
for the majority of people who decide to get them. Most people who get
tattoos do so simply because they want them; they do not possess the weakness
of character which leads addicts in the position of being compelled to
do something.
The concept that a person gets tattoos because he or she is addicted to
pain and therefore enjoys the painful process of being tattooed can only
come from either the most ignorant or those who have some personal issues
of their own.
Unfortunately, both of these misconceptions shed a very negative light
on both the subject of tattoos and the people who wear them. It is a bad
reputation which neither deserve, for there is almost never any fact in
either point of view. While there are those who get tattoos with less
than desirable motives, most people who get them do so with no negative
attachment to either the tattoos or the process whatsoever. The bottom
line is if you find someone who is attempting to convince you that getting
tattoos is an addiction, you've probably found someone who actually is
an addict and does not realize that most people are not.
Tattoos:
Not Just For Bikers Anymore
The History Of Tattoos
What
To Expect When You Get Your Tattoo
Possible
Side Effects Of Getting A Tattoo
Problems
Associated With Tattoos
What
Do The Religions Say About Tattoos?
Tattoos
Around The World
Tattoos
VS. Other Body Art
Tattoo Designs
Why
Do People Get Tattoos?
How
To Find A Good Tattoo Artist
Positive
Attributes Of Tattoos
First
You Want It, Then You Don't - Tattoo Removal
Tattoos
In History
Who
Is Most Likely To Get Tattoos?
Tattoo Cover
Ups
Tattoo Removal
Are
Tattoos An Addiction?
Celebrities
And Their Tattoos
Celebrities
Love Tattoos
How
Tattoos Are Made
What
Is Going On Today With Tattoos
Why Get
A Tattoo?
Variations
In Tattoos
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