# Individualist trends and fads: kids just phoning it in these days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 22, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631 "2011-03-22T18:14:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/121 "2011-03-29T02:14:35Z")
Once way back when in Texas, I was at a party with a band that had traveled there from the West Coast. They were making some sort of circuit; they didn’t go specifically just to Texas. But the singer was bald and covered with tattoos all over his head and neck. If he ever decided to become, say, an investment banker, he’d be screwed. I thought something along the lines of what **gaffa** said. It’s true that the old hippies could simply get a haircut and don a suit if they ever decided to change their lifestyle, but prominent tattoos can lock you out of certain paths forever. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/122 "2011-03-29T03:32:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The problem here - and people who voice their fear of “being stuck” with a tattoo often make this mistake - is not that when you get a tattoo, you’re stuck with it and regret it forever. It’s that if you get a _bad_ tattoo, you’re stuck with a bad tattoo. If you get a **tattoo** , you’re stuck with a **tattoo**. “Good” or “bad” doesn’t enter into it. The fact is that it is, in a very real and indisputable way, stuck on the tattooed person. It doesn’t matter if you have the Mona Lisa of tattoos, it is still indelibly applied to human skin. Definitively “stuck”. > [@](#): > > If you get one that is neither bad nor stupid, it’s not such a problem. Hah! ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/123 "2011-03-29T04:00:21Z")
I was born in '73, and my son in '92. What I’ve gathered from watching him and his friends is that they really don’t care much about the older generations at all. I don’t mean this in a negative sense. They just don’t seem to think much about how their parents behaved, what they believed in, how they chose to rebel, or how they might top that. It’s interesting, really. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/124 "2011-03-29T05:40:39Z")
I wonder what the cutoff age for this generation is. I graduated high school in '04 and barely missed the “high school in an age of myself” era, although we did have AOL chats and everything. I’m a millenial, I think that’s the term, correct? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/125 "2011-03-29T06:55:43Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I’m a millenial, I think that’s the term, correct? Yeah. That or Generation Y, which runs from about 1981 to 1991. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/126 "2011-03-29T07:07:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Yeah. That or Generation Y, which runs from about 1981 to 1991. But…that would make the current one Generation Z! Oh dear Lord, it’s the end of days! ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/127 "2011-03-29T08:13:21Z")
Could someone link to a chart or something of which gen is which? I don’t have any idea what the accepted birthdates and assumptions are. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/128 "2011-03-29T13:33:26Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Could someone link to a chart or something of which gen is which? I don’t have any idea what the accepted birthdates and assumptions are. [![](http://www.thegenxfiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/basic-generations-chart.gif) ](http://www.thegenxfiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/basic-generations-chart.gif) Assumptions: [Strauss–Howe generational theory - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss-Howe_generational_theory) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/129 "2011-03-29T14:23:05Z")
> [@medicated](#): > > I was born in '73, and my son in '92. What I’ve gathered from watching him and his friends is that they really don’t care much about the older generations at all. I don’t mean this in a negative sense. They just don’t seem to think much about how their parents behaved, what they believed in, how they chose to rebel, or how they might top that. > > It’s interesting, really. ‘Cause they don’t care about the young folks, talkin’ bout the young style? And they don’t care about the old folks, talkin’ bout the old style, too? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/130 "2011-03-29T14:26:14Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > If you get a **tattoo** , you’re stuck with a **tattoo**. I understand how tattoos work. > [@](#): > > “Good” or “bad” doesn’t enter into it. Yes it does: if you like it, you don’t feel stuck with it. So there’s no problem. And you also don’t have to adopt the point of view that if your tattoo reflects something from your past, it’s unwanted refuse. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/131 "2011-03-29T19:08:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yes it does: if you like it, you don’t feel stuck with it. “Feel” has nothing to do with it. _Factually_, you are stuck with it. In reality, you either have it for life, or have to replace it with a very expensive patch of scar tissue applied at great expense. Tom Arnold was very amusing talking about the process of having a tattoo of his ex-wife’s face burned off. He said it was virtually impossible to get laid with Rosanne’s face on his chest.\* - Comment about Tom Arnold making a poor choice of a tattoo preemptively noted and rejected. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/132 "2011-03-29T23:58:34Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > [http://www.thegenxfiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/basic-generations-chart.gif](http://www.thegenxfiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/basic-generations-chart.gif) > > Assumptions: [Strauss–Howe generational theory - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss-Howe_generational_theory) Thanks. I appreciate that, from the bottom of my apparently Gen-X nomad heart. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/133 "2011-03-30T01:38:04Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > The point is, your life could change, and you’re stuck\* with an indelible piece of debris from the life you used to have. Could? You said “will” initially. How heavy are those goalposts? > [@gaffa](#): > > Maybe you have a boring life. Interesting conclusion you’re jumping to. If you don’t regret your tattoo, your life is boring. > [@gaffa](#): > > But I have friends who have served time and have prison tattoos that they regret because they are no longer criminals. I have a friend who used to be a radical separatist lesbian who had a tattoo that read “If It Smells Like Fish, Eat It” who is now a straight woman with children. Well, sure, your friends got stupid tattoos. I’d be willing to bet that most people who get tattoos don’t regret them, But, sure, if you get a stupid tattoo, it _could_ change your life. > [@gaffa](#): > > People _other than you_ lead lives that can change. Everyone leads lives that can change. > [@gaffa](#): > > “Feel” has nothing to do with it. _Factually_, you are stuck with it. Feel has everything to do with it. You’re only “stuck” with something if it’s something you no longer want. That’s kinda what “stuck” means in this usage. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/134 "2011-03-30T03:14:18Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > Y’know, there’s no rule that says your musical taste stops changing when you’re 30. The hell do you care what music the guy likes? I’m sorry, I thought this was the thread where we made sweeping generalizations about generational coolness on scant facts. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/135 "2011-03-30T03:59:14Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > It may be an unfair comparison; nevertheless, [Friday - Rebecca Black](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0) can be compared to [Candy - Mandy Moore](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4e-eXWbbs). I am 28 also, and I know what you mean. And I also get it - that Rebecca Black (like Mandy Moore) is trying to convey that she is a nice girl (whatever in society or among generations that means). I was ridiculed in this thread for saying that the only part I liked in “Friday” was the break. But (for once) I’m ahead of the curve because as KnowYourMeme [reported](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rebecca-black-friday), “the break has been notably singled out”. > > I do believe that Rebecca Black has a future in electronic dance music. > > However, I have to be honest and say Rebecca Black’s friends cannot compare to Mandy Moore’s friends (FYI PYT). Sorry. [I’m certainly looking forward to Stephen Colbert’s rendition of the song with The Roots on Jimmy Fallon’s show.](http://www.funnyordie.com/articles/4affb32888/stephen-colbert-might-sing-rebecca-black-s-friday-on-fallon) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/136 "2011-03-30T04:25:04Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > _Factually_, you are stuck with it. This doesn’t seem to be sinking in: not everyone feels “stuck” with a tattoo even if it reflects something they’re not as passionate about as they once were. And if you make a sensible and considered tattoo choice (best not rush into that Rebecca Black tattoo) you’re less likely to regret it. I don’t feel stuck with my feet. > [@](#): > > Tom Arnold was very amusing talking about the process of having a tattoo of his ex-wife’s face burned off. He said it was virtually impossible to get laid with Rosanne’s face on his chest. Drug addict does something stupid, film at 11. I’m not surprised your friends regret their prison tattoos, although that’s kind of a ridiculous comparison. If I had prison tats I think my biggest regret would be that I’ve been in prison, not some ink. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/137 "2011-03-30T16:18:33Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I have a friend who used to be a radical separatist lesbian who had a tattoo that read “If It Smells Like Fish, Eat It” who is now a straight woman with children. Yes, if you design your tattoos based on a tshirt you bought in Panama City Beach during Spring Break '98, odds are good that you will regret them later. Most of us have more sense than that. I mean, seriously, that is one terrible idea for a tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/138 "2011-03-30T16:56:12Z")
I have one tattoo, which is my bloodgroup shaped as a pair of "Jump"wings on my arm. I had cause to regret it when on a freezing day in Belfast, dressed in civilian clothing with a VERY warm puffa jacket on over a short sleeved T shirt, I went into a Republican pub in the Markets district. It turned out to be scorching hot in the pub, but I had to drink my pint and couldn’t take my jacket off because of the bloody tattoo. The tattoo was of a design that only British service personell had done. The sweat started rolling off of me as I desperately tried to drink the pint as fast as possible. (not normally a problem but it seemed to be on that particular day) The barmaid looked at me oddly and asked me if I was feeling alright, and I was forced to answer in my best Belfast accent that I thought that I was going down with flu. (At that time anyone English in that area was presumed to be some sort of spy) I thought I’d never finish that pint . That said, I think that tattoos make the world a more interesting place and for some people are a way of expressing things about themselves to strangers. So good luck to those who want them. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631/139 "2011-04-02T22:27:01Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > Yes, if you design your tattoos based on a tshirt you bought in Panama City Beach during Spring Break '98, odds are good that you will regret them later. Most of us have more sense than that. I mean, seriously, that is one terrible idea for a tattoo. WHAT??!! My Club LaVela Spring Break '98 tatoo is TIMELESS!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individualist-trends-and-fads-kids-just-phoning-it-in-these-days/575631.md?page=6)