Fashionably Late: Tattoos of the Future

Most people are very opinionated regarding tattoos. Some like them on other people, but could never imagine getting one themselves. Others cannot wait to turn 18 to decorate their bodies with all the symbols they feel reflect their life. And some just cannot stand them whether they are on themselves or on another person. Tattoos are often considered a fashion statement. They are a way to express what kind of style you like, your personality, or to help you create a certain persona. A huge factor for many however, is the permanency of the tattoo. I know many people who would love to get one … if they could erase it painlessly in two decades or so. Many don’t love the idea of being a seventy-five year old grandparent with a butterfly “tramp stamp” or looking like a wrinkled brick building covered in graffiti.

Luckily for those of you who want to get inked yet have commitment issues, there is a new technology you might find interesting. Scientists are working on electronic tattoos that are implanted in the body underneath the skin. The electronic circuits are inserted under the skin using a silicon-silk device that eventually dissolves into the body. After the silk is gone, only the silicon electronic chips are left in the body. The material is flexible making the electronics capable of conforming to the shape of the body’s tissue. These tattoos can function as LED display screens turning a person’s skin into a video screen. The tattoos could project patterns, designs, television and, potentially, blood sugar readings. Also, they can be turned on and off at the user’s command.

I’m not sure how the scientists envisioned this project working out, but I see the future of the punk population trading in their old still life tattoos for these crazy, moving, blinking ones. I am pretty uncomfortable with the thought of humans turning into something out of a sci-fi movie and becoming walking versions of the Las Vegas strip. As a form of self-expression, I have no issue in tattoos and find that at times they can look quite artistic. If a person wishes to display something that represents who they are on their skin, that is their choice, and, if done well, it can really add to their appearance. Take Angelina Jolie, for example. She would not be nearly as exotic without her array of artistic tattoos. Or David Beckham, he would simply not be Beckham without his signature ink.

Being someone who can barely commit to anything, the permanency of a tattoo is not something with which I can reconcile. While the idea that a tattoo can be turned on and off is intriguing, the thought of being implanted with electrodes is not. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that these morphing tattoos don’t grace the runways or the streets for a while and remain being studied for medical purposes. So, for the time being, I’m going to stick to having my skin look the way it was meant to be, LED technology free.