My response to young people who ask me any question about tattoos is two-fold.
1) For many centuries, tattoos and piercings were often used by primitive tribes (meaning "non-industrial" and "hunter-gatherer" societies) to indicate either identification with the home tribe or ownership. Tribes in tropical areas where wearing fur clothing was stupid and there was no woven fabric which would survive the day-to-day stress of life, tattoos would identify the wearer to both friend and enemy. Piercings would indicate ownership by the tribe in general and/or a specific person.
If that does not dissuade them (rarely seems to), I deploy the second point.
2) Unless you undergo a painful and expensive procedure to remove said tattoo, it's going to be with you for the rest of your life. Pick something that won't embarrass you when you're a forty-year-old parent or executive, or when you're sixty and gravity is winning the battle.
