The Future of Tattoo Acceptance: Emerging Adults' Thoughts on Tattoos
Presenter(s)
James Houck
If you selected Other, please indicate which college you are presenting from:
Bridgewater State University
Department(s)
Psychology
Program(s)/Keywords
Tattoos, Body Art, Acceptance, Emerging Adults
Abstract or Description
Every day we as a society seem to take steps forward and back in terms of social progressiveness and acceptance. This includes in all aspects of life from social norms to workplace norms. As tattoos continue to sky rocket in terms of popularity in recent years, where does that leave levels of acceptance towards them in the very near future? Who better to ask than the people that will be shaping the future workplace and social norms for the next generation: emerging adults. In this study, 50 emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 29 were asked about their thoughts and attitudes towards tattoos from a variety of angles to try and gather what the attitude towards tattoos will be in the future. They were asked questions about demographics, self-esteem, social media and anxiety, spending habits, friendships, and tattoos. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between people who are accepting of tattoos in one setting or plan on getting tattoos and their acceptance in both professional and social environments. But the results also showed that many demographic variables had no effect on emerging adults’ attitudes towards tattoos.
Mentor
Dr. Joseph R. Schwab
Comments
Kayla Mort 3 months ago
I found your presentation to be really engaging and interesting, especially your approach of looking at factors like self-esteem, social media use, and spending habits. It’s interesting that many demographic variables didn’t significantly influence attitudes toward tattoos, were you surprised by that?
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Colby Montville2 months ago
I found this very interesting, as I have tattoos and have been wondering what adults of our generation feel towards them. Now that they are becoming more accepted, seeing this presentation caught my eye. While the results presented no significant relationships, I believe this shows a sliver of hope that tattoos will become far more accepted in our society than they wore. My one question is what draws the line as unacceptable in regards to the tattoo itself?
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