Problem Statement

There has been an increase in the purchasing of tattoos by adolescents (Gochenouer & Hale, 2017). Since 2010, tattoo business owners are claiming that they have a booming business that increases by even three hundred percent. In 2014, the tattoo removal business was valued at 75.5 million, and it was predicted to be valued at 83.5 this year 2018 (Harris, 2014). Some claim tattoo is a form of body art, while others assert it is a form of self-mutilation (Wessel & Kasten, 2014) yet, very few individuals’ address that tattoos last into the golden years and are hard to remove. According to Barth, Adolescents who make high-risk decisions, such as having a boyfriend’s name placed on one’s body may not realize they may not be with this person forever. Or having a sleeve tattoo or facial tattoo may impede the hiring of a well-paying job may not have been taking into consideration before the purchase of the tattoo ((Barth, 2017). Leaving parents and the consumer wondering to what extent does social media promote adolescents in the purchasing of symbols? To complete this capstone research paper, the author will review the literature using peer-reviewed journal articles; conduct a critical analysis; offer problem resolutions, and address the social implications of whom this study could impact.

As a result of increasing tattoo business among the teens and the predicted value of eighty-three million rises in 2018, it is essential to come up with effective ways of dealing with the effect of social media on influencing tattooing among the adolescents (Harris, 2014). It is a youthful decision that has permanent implications in life, and therefore it ought to be studied, documented and recommendations given to the government and public for control. Tattooing has detrimental social, health and employment effects as it spans from teenage to old age and needs to be controlled before late. Health wise, tattooing and body piercing can cause allergy, skin infection, burning at tattoo location, keloids, and blood-borne diseases (Higuera, 2016). Grownups tend to misinterpret tattooed teens as bound to make silly mistakes and being notorious hence affecting their relationships. The phenomena of teenage tattooing can be controlled by media as many adolescents spend most of their time using social media. Tailored advice can cure this problem. Tattooing also has effects on employment. Tattooed teens and grownups may miss great job opportunities due to their tattoos that will lead to employer rejections. Lack of jobs and high medical bills for tattoo related diseases is a blow to both personal and governmental resources.

Literature Review

Tattoos are a form of body modification that involve embedding ink into the skin in delicate patterns that can either be colorful or monochromatic. Tattooing in adolescents is increasingly becoming rampant and is associated with many reasons one of the main ones being social media influence. Today, adolescents are introduced to social media at a very young age sometimes even before they hit puberty. Some forms of social media that adolescents commonly use include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr. Other forms include online messaging applications that can be downloaded to devices such as computers and cell phones. The literature reviews aims on discussing whether social media does indeed influence tattoo sub-culture in adolescents and how it does the same.

The article begins by tracing the origins of tattoos and establishing the fact that indigenous societies all over the world did carry out body marking through tattoos as a sign of beauty, spirituality, gender, marital status, social status and power (Dey and Das). Tattooing in some communities or cultures was done to children and adolescents too especially just after puberty and therefore from that specific perspective it is not a new thing for adolescents to get tattoos. Social media, consequently, is not the only factor that can be held accountable in influencing adolescent tattoos. (Dey and Das) go on to explain that apart from social media, factors such as art, fashion, scar hiding, individuality, memories, and idolizing people (more often than not celebrities) influence the need for adolescent to get tattoos and moreover what type of tattoo they get and on which body part.

Social media somewhat encompasses almost all the other factors as presented by (Dey and Das) that influence adolescent tattoos. Fashion trends and statements are well represented on social media. People get tattoos for the sake of fashion and post them on social media and knowing how social media works, these posts are highly popularized. Many adolescents on social media come across such trends and get similar tattoos in order to feel trendy and fashionable. Some people dealing with depression and self-harming habits tend to have scars from bouts of self-harm. Those who have managed to heal and overcome such mental health issues may cover up scars with tattoos to mark milestones in their journeys towards full mental health which may influence adolescents with the same issues to do the same. The adolescents will feel that they relate to and identify with others who have done the same.

Another factor discussed by (Dey and Das) is the influence of idols on adolescents. The higher percentage of celebrities have social media pages where they post pictures of themselves. When an adolescent idolizes someone they may want to do things the same way their idols do and in some cases it means acquiring matching tattoos with their idols or getting tattoos inspired by their idols. Either way, social media gives them the opportunity to do that.

In summation, other factors that include peer pressure, films and shows, and seeking societal acceptance and recognition on social media influences adolescent tattoos. Adolescents feel that they need to be cool, popular, and recognized by the people around them. Attention is important for them and social media is a gateway to acquiring that attention through body modification influences.

Tattoos have slowly crept into our society and it is now a common thing amongst adolescents. Researchers correlate several things with someone who has tattoos. However, different people have different reasons as to why they tattoos on their bodies. Different tattoos carry different messages that depict different emotions (Davidson, 2016). It is quite a difficult thing trying to figure out why people really choose to have ink put into their skin. This people get different judgments from the societies. Long ago presumptions made about tattooed persons are that they are criminals and dangerous people (Dey, 2016). In our contemporary world, it is less than a big deal to have a tattoo, as it is now common. In the present paper, I try to do a literature review on several things surrounding tattoos. The following four literature reviews from different documents demonstrates this topic in discussion

In this research article by Canadian Scholars, (Davidson, 2016) try to address steps on achieving commemorative tattoos. The author of this document tries to create a vivid picture on the tattooing process. He clearly tries to erase negativity and naivety in regards to tattoo projects. He discusses its relation to the human and goes in depth in analyzing and highlighting its effect on the human health. In our second article where the author further gives reasons as to why really people choose to tattoo. (Dey, 2016)

He indicates that indeed it is hard to explain why people undergo this process. He says some do it as a requirement for their cultural practice; it is an activity with its roots from the ancient times. He says this act in some communities it is associated with power and gender and as a sign of maturity acts as a passage rite. However, in our society, it is nothing really associated with one’s culture but more of one’s emotional expression. This author conclusion is that tattoos no longer have cultural meanings nor are they in association with one’s community demands. It is one’s personal tale drawing influence from various things more so electronic media. It is also in association with a teen stage demand. Tattooing currently is a common thing amongst our teenagers. They get ink of their idols and words that act as motivational quote to them.

Another researcher in his article further emphasizes the fact that tattooing is an adolescent self-expression means. (Forth, 2015) It is also because of peer influence result. Young teenagers go for the ink not because they really want it but because of pressure from their peers. (Kenny, 2016). The author states that peers get ink to have better standards when comparing body mass amongst them. Some just do this to fit in among their peers and avoid rejection or even bullying. This leaves us with the conclusion that indeed tattoo is no longer in relation to spiritual belief but just self-satisfaction. We can conclude that indeed this art of tattooing is a form of self-expression. Media personalities are the biggest promoters of this act; we see their bodies fully in a cover of ink. This is another influence in our teenager’s lives as it leaves behind a presumption that it is a cool thing to do. In addition, the most absurd thing is that people are even getting face tattoos that is close to an insane act. What our children maybe will never know as this article (Rubin, 2009) states; some of these celebrities do it as a ritualistic passage rite.

References

Bergh, L., Jordaan, J., Lombard, E., Naude, L., & van Zyl, J. (2017). Social Media, Permanence, and Tattoed Student: The Case for Personal, Personal Branding. Critical Arts: A South- North Journal Of Cultural & Media Studies, 31(4), 1-17.

Carr, C. T., & Hayes, R. A. (2015). Social media: Defining, developing, and divining. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 23(1), 46-65.

Camacho, J., & Brown, W. (2017). The evolution of the tattoo in defiance of the immutable definition of deviance: current perceptions by law enforcement of tattooed arrestees. Deviant Behavior, 1-19.

WALZER, A. (2016, February 24). Media and contemporary tattoo. Retrieved from COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY: https://www.unav.es/fcom/communication-society/en/…

Gochenouer, D., & Hale, A. (2017). An Exploration of Body Art in retail Advertising. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 11(4), 79-85.

Wessel, A., & Kasten, E. (2014). Body piercing and self-mutilation: A multifaceted relationship. Am J Appl Psychol, 3(4), 104-109.

Baranska, A., Shawket, A., Jouve, M., Baratin, M., Malosse, C., Voluzan, O., … & Dalod, M. (2018). Unveiling skin macrophage dynamics explains both tattoo persistence and strenuous removal. Journal of Experimental Medicine, jem-20171608.

Barth, F. D. (2015). Social media and adolescent development: Hazards, pitfalls, and opportunities for growth. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(2), 201-208.

Davidson, Deborah. The Tattoo Project: Commemorative Tattoos, Visual Culture, and the Digital Archive. Toronto: Canadian Scholars, 2016. Document.

Dey, Archita and Kaustav Das. “Why We Tattoo? Exploring the Motivation and Meaning.” Anthropology (2016): 4:174. Article.

Duke University. Media’s roles in defining tattooed women. 2018. Article. 26 March 2018.

Forth, De’ysha. Adolescent Self Expression. 16 March 2014. Article. 26 March 2018.

Grogan, Sarah. “Body Image and Health: Contemporary Perspectives.” Journal of Health Psychology (2006): 523-530. pdf.

Jensen, Lene Arnett and Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. “Going Global: New Pathways for Adolescents.” Journal of Social Issues (2012): 473-492. pdf.

Kenny, Ursula, et al. “Peer Influences on Adolescent Body Image: Friends or Foes?” Journal of Adolescent Research (2016): 768-799. Article.

Matera, Avery. Bee Tattoos Unite Social Media Following the Manchester Explosion. 24 May 2017. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/bee-tattoos-support-manchester. 26 March 2018.

Paxton, S. J. and E. H. Wertheim. “Body Image Development – Adolescent Girls.” Encyclopedia of Body Image and Human Appearance (2012): 187-193. Document.

Petray, Theresa and Anne Stephens. “Tattoos, piercings and youth: How does body modification fit into young people’s life circumstances?” Proceedings of The Australian Sociological Association Conference (2015): 23-26. pdf.

Rubin, Lawrence. Tattoos and Body Piercing: Adolescent Self-Expression or Self-Mutilation? 02 July 2009. Article. 26 March 2018.

Often there are many contributing causes in the development of a specific problem/issue. These causes may be complex and may involve individuals, institutions, and/or environmental factors, for example. This complexity increases the difficulty in creating a solution for the problem. Thus, prior to developing solutions, there must be a critical analysis of the problem/issue. The analysis must address the many potential causes of the problem/issue and determine which had the most impact on its development. Critical analysis relies on the literature and resources that address the specific problem.

In this Application, you will focus on a critical analysis of the problem utilizing the findings from the literature collected in Weeks 4 and 5.

To prepare:

• Review the resources you collected and summarized in Weeks 4 and 5.
• Review the questions in the “Critical Analysis Template,” located in the Resources area on the left navigation bar.
• Think about the causes of the problem or the issue you have identified, and consider who or what are the major contributors to this problem.
• Think about the impacts of the problem.

The assignment:

By Day 7, briefly describe, in 2-3 pages, the problem/issue and the problem statement you developed.

1. Identify the major contributors to the problem (who, what) and briefly explain how they contribute to/cause the problem.
2. Explain at least two causes of the problem.
3. Explain at least two effects of the problem.

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