Trend reversal No more than 15 percent of Germans have a tattoo

A dolphin, a rose or just a whole ass antler. More and more people get tattooed. Some people get the impression that almost everyone already has a tattoo. Even if the proportion has risen steadily in recent years, quite so it is not, as a recent survey shows. However, the trend has already reached its peak.

Karsten F. (23) has just had his first tattoo done. "Almost everyone in my circle of friends has a tattoo," says Karsten. "Some have even had their arms and legs almost completely stung". But even if in the summer with much naked skin creates the impression that almost everyone wears a picture under the skin, so it is not. According to a poll conducted by opinion pollster "YouGov", an average of 15 percent of adult people in Germany have a tattoo. Women seem to be a little more inclined to sting art than 18% of men (13%).

The trend is broken? Image: Andrey Kiselev - fotolia

There were hardly any differences in the representative survey of urban and rural populations. Even between East and West, there were no significant differences. In the East, 15 percent of adults wear a tattoo and in the West 16 percent. Deviations were found, however, among the age groups. Especially the young people wear one or more tattoos.

Less and less young people get tattooed
In the overview: 28 percent of the 25 to 34 years are tattooed. For the 35 to 44-year-olds it is 21 percent. In the 45 to 54 year olds still 20 percent. For people over the age of 55, it is only 7 percent. Because most people can be stung in their twentieth year of life, the evaluations are a veritable boom in the 90s. It is interesting that the trend seems to be declining again. For 18-24 year olds, only 12 percent of adults are tattooed.

The topic polarizes the Germans. 39 percent of respondents said they refused tattoos. "Slightly negative" said 22 percent. "Totally negative" said 17 percent. 29 percent of respondents said they were positive about body jewelry. Of the positive respondents, 12 percent said "very positive" and 17 percent "more positive". Thirty percent said that they find skin pictures "neither positive nor negative". The rest said they had no opinion on this topic.

Medical long-term consequences barely explored
The long-term medical consequences have not been sufficiently researched yet. However, there are indications that certain cancers are promoted by tattoos. There is no clear evidence for this.

A total of 1176 people over the age of 18 participated in the representative survey. According to researchers, the survey is meaningful for Germany. (Sb)