News from Discovery Real Time

TATTITUDES
Britain’s Teens are Underage Inkers


Many people choose to use their skin as the canvass for modern day artwork, with fantastic results. But with almost a quarter of Brits getting tattooed under the legal age of 18, young lawbreakers are rebelling against the system and getting inked illegally.

This worrying statistic comes to light after Discovery Real Rime commissioned The Ink Report, the most extensive survey to date on Brits’ attitudes towards tattooing.

Marking the launch of tattoo show LA Ink, which stars celebrity tattooist Kat Von D, the results also reveal that 36% of 16-24 year olds already regret their tattoo and a quarter of them think they’ll regret it when they’re older.

Louis Malloy, professional tattoo artist and personal tattooist to David Beckham, says, “I always ask the client for ID, if I’m not sure of their age - it’s imperative I don’t break the law. But equally important is that a person chooses a design which they will live with for life; it’s unlikely at 16 or 17 years old you’ll be able to make that decision.” Louis Malloy also adds’ “I would suggest that the legal age for getting a tattoo is raised to 21 years old. At that age, you’d expect them to be slightly more mature.”

LA Ink premieres on Discovery Real Time this Sunday 11th November at 9pm.

The Ink Report analyses the nation’s attitudes towards tattooing and discovers how the British public perceives tattoos, with some surprising results.

A tattoo is for life
• 1 in 3 people who have a tattoo regret it
• A 1/3 of people believe they will regret their tattoos when they are older
• 40% of people choose their tattoo on its design only – suggesting style over sentiment

Girl Power
• A sixth of women have tattoos compared to only 1 in 10 men
• 3 times as many women get a tattoo to commemorate their newfound freedom than men – women make a permanent mark of freedom with 1 in 8 inking important life moments
• Men are 5 times more likely than women to link lack of intelligence to tattoos

Law breakers, freedom fighters and self-harmers
• Over 1 in 5 aged between 45-54 years old commemorate newfound freedom with a tattoo
• A ¼ of people are law breakers - getting their first tattoo under the age of 18
• 16-24 year olds are four times more likely then 55+ year olds to view tattoos as art
• 1 in 10 55+ year olds think that tattoos are a form of self harm

Ink Nation
Across the country attitudes towards tattoos vary greatly:
• The Welsh are Britain’s most tattooed - 1 in 5 have a tattoo
• The Irish are the least likely to have a tattoo, with only 1in10 having one – and when they do get a tattoo the Irish regret it the most (50%)
• People from the Midlands love their tattoos with 83% loving their body art
• 10% of Scots think tattoos are a form of self harm

Employment
• 34% of people who work in human resources have a tattoo
• People working in human resources and retail love their tattoos the most, 83%
• Sales, media and marketing is the only industry that get a tattoo done in the style of a celebrity – maybe this is why they (72%) regret them so much?!
• Almost half of people in the legal profession think that tattoos look common – only 7% have a tattoo