The percentages of who has tattoos and who doesn't seems to change frequently. Some surveys say 15%, others say 25%-30%, a some surveys boast 50+% of people have tattoos. It's quite confusing when trying to find actual numbers, especially when some folks might just make them up on the spot.
I grew up knowing a few people that had tattoos, meet people now that have some, but I wouldn't put them anywhere near the majority of folks. Tattoos are popular but I think people see them as more wide spread because it's sometimes hard to not see them. People with tattoos are going to show them off and talk about them, which someone without can't really do. "Hey check out my bare skin, not a thing on it!" isn't a really a conversation starter.
I have nothing against non tattooed people, everyone has what they like, I'm just making an observation as to why tattoos might seem really commonplace. Another factor is location, some cities have more tattooed people than other cities.
I personally want a tattoo (at least one) and have been drawing designs for tattoos since high school. I've finally settled on one and have been sitting on it for almost a year and my BF (who has his whole back covered in tattoos) is having second thoughts for me.
He's sure I'll regret it, even though he doesn't regret any of his. 10-20 years down the road I might regret it, but 30-40 years down I might be really happy I got it done. If I spend all my time worrying about what will happen in the future, I'll never get anything done in the present.
This July will mark one year after finalizing the design, and I'll see if I still really want it. If I do want it, I'll have myself a tattoo, if I don't want it done, I'll probably sell the design since it's pretty darn neat looking.
