Don’t they want to get jobs later in life?
I suspect it is the cumulative effect of substance abuse, which leads to poor decision making skills, that would cause someone to make such a huge mistake. Also, hanging around a sub culture where tattoos are accepted and even cool (like Yahoo Answers, where all the Tattoo proponents gather together to encourage each other) would lead to a similar erosion in decision making skills.
"Emotional risks [of tattoos] include negative feelings you might have as a result of getting a tattoo or piercing. Social risks are those that could damage your relationship with others, including friends, parents, teachers, and employers. . . For example, body modification can affect your chances for future employment. Certain jobs are not available to people who have visible body art."
(Bonnie B. Graves, Tattooing and body piercing, p. 43)
"The fact that so many people change their minds [about their tattoos] should lead you to think carefully about whether you want to lock yourself into a fashion statement that might cause you a lot of aggravation and heartache later in life." (Laura Reybold, Everything you need to know about the dangers of tattooing and body piercing, p. 32)
"What so few realize, tragically, is that such a mark [tattoo] becomes the albatross around the neck for all time." (Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 181)
