Whenever I’m at a party or public function and someone in the group points out someone’s tattoos and asks them about it, that to me in the most banal conversation because it inevitably results in said person related the story of not just that tattoo, but EVERY SINGLE TATTOO on their body. And then it gets worse when other people in the group start related their own tattoo stories and then you get a feedback loop of tattoo stories for at least ten minutes.
I can’t be the only one who finds this the worst topic to hear about, because honestly who the hell cares about what the generic tattoos people get come from, what inspired them to get them, where they got them, the healing process of getting them etc. At least the weather is something that might actually effect your life.
Getting people to talk about their tattoos is kind of cool. I have no tattoos. I do not plan on getting any. But the tattoos often are deeply meaningful to the person who has them and you can launch a conversation pretty promptly by asking a question or two along the rambling narrative. It’s an instant, easy ice-breaker, and at a party or public function, that’s the point.
At the least, it’s a much more interesting bellweather for wanting to talk with somebody.
Who cares about the weather? At a party?! Yep, it sure is hot/cold/rainy/humid/snowy. I guess I may get sweaty/cold/wet/miserably sweaty/cold-and-maybe wet. Weather talk is generic smalltalk, and if you’re at a party and talking about the weather… I don’t know, Asuka, unless you wanted to talk about the photography of the Ice Storm of '98 (it was pretty beautiful) or some really extreme temperatures I’ve experienced, I’d rather hear about tattoos**.
So you should actually have an, “It’s fine,” category. Because in a party or other social affair, it’s fine.
I’ve fortunately never been in such a conversation, but were I, I would categorize it as very annoying.
From reading threads here, one could conclude that people are convinced their tattoos and their recreational drug use are fascinating subjects that everyone is interested in.
If someone has a lot of tattoos then they have probably put quite a lot of time, money and thought into them, the tats become an important part of their persona, so naturally if someone shows any interest they will want to talk about them, I don’t find them any more boring than any other topic and far less boring than some topics, sport for example, or worst of all new parents talking about their babies
It’s just another topic I have little interest in that people engage in. Actually, it is slightly more interesting than professional sports or hair styling. I so don’t care about it that I don’t care if other people talk about it or not.
Not my area of interest, and I’d find it as annoying/boring as a discussion of college sports or a TV show I never watched or conspiracy theories. If it dominated the conversation, I’d probably wander elsewhere. Life’s too short to listen to boring stuff.
I annoy my Wife by complimenting random people on their art. My daughters demonstrated how different they are with their first tattoos.
Older girl, separated from her husband and now driving mule tours in New Orleans, a cartoon pony which feels very Thelwell.
Younger girl, married this September to a man she has been with for six years and working as a paralegal in Connecticut, Mothman as the first part of a sleeve of American Cryptids.
That’s kinda clarifying, actually. I thought the story was pretty cool, and it didn’t even occur to me that it’d be what the OP was complaining about. Sweet: I declare the OP wrong wrong wrong!
I find it interesting when I hear a person talk about a tattoo very casually; “Oh, we were in [city] for the weekend and found this tattoo place and I got this” since I can’t imagine just saying “Fuck it, gimme a shark on my arm” but I guess some people do.
Otherwise, I’m like you in that I’ll never get a tattoo so I can find some interest in hearing about other people’s mindset and experiences. Sure, some people could beat it into the ground but they can do that with shit I’m actively involved in as well.
No, most boring is hearing about people’s dreams. Second most boring is that feedback loop of everyone telling their worst travel experiences, especially flight delays/cancellations.
I had this dream, I was flying without a plane, like you do in dreams, and the flight got cancelled. I was stuck in Beirut for 24 hours, and there was this tattoo parlor in the airport, so I got one of a unicorn, to remember the occasion.
It’s never been a problem for me, a lot of times they turn into interesting stories. Most of mine don’t really have any deeper meaning behind them, so discussion is usually simple: “I went to a tattoo shop on Friday the 13th when they had their specials and chose the ones off the sheet that I liked the most.” Not a very long convo there, lol. But my Starman tattoo on my arm has helped me to find other Rush fans and it has been a pretty good conversation-starter.
I don’t think I’ve ever been in the situation the OP describes. But if I were? Well, I don’t like tattoos, but as a topic of conversation they’re no more boring than plenty of other things that strangers find to talk to one another about.