Don’t like tattoos? You’re probably over 50! Research shows that older people consider body art to be less beautiful

Whether it’s a delicate outline or a full sleeve, up to a quarter of people around the world now have tattoos.

But how much you like (or dislike) body ink could indicate your age, according to a study.

Experts have discovered that people over fifty find extreme tattoos less attractive than the younger generation.

And it could be due to traditional negative stereotypes associated with the body art, they said.

The team from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg, Germany, recruited 487 adults to rate images of two models with different degrees of temporary tattoo coverage: no coverage, light, moderate, heavy, extreme, and extreme with facial treatment.

The tattoos followed natural, geometric and animal-inspired designs, and participants were asked to rate the perceived beauty of each image using a seven-point scale.

The images without tattoos were rated the highest overall, while the images with facial art were rated the lowest.

Further analysis showed that participants younger than 50 found the extreme images more beautiful than older respondents.

The team from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg, Germany, recruited 487 adults to rate images of two models with different degrees of temporary tattoo coverage – no coverage, light, moderate, heavy, extreme and extreme with facial treatment.

Whether it’s a delicate outline or a full sleeve, up to a quarter of people around the world now have tattoos. But how much you like (or dislike) body ink could be an indication of your age, according to a study

Extreme images were images where people had tattoo sleeves, or large tattoos on prominent parts of their bodies, such as their chest.

Participants who had tattoos themselves, as well as tattoo artists, also rated inked people higher.

However, facial tattoos were consistently the least positively received, even among the experts.

Writing in the journal Plos One, the researchers said: ‘This age-related difference can be explained by numerous factors.

‘Younger people have a significantly higher average time of social media use and may therefore be more exposed to tattoos.

‘In addition, many public figures – who regularly serve as role models for young people – show tattoos in films or advertisements, or have tattoos themselves.

‘Previous studies have shown the presence of negative stereotypes and attitudes in older individuals towards tattooed individuals.’

They concluded: ‘These findings confirm that tattoos influence aesthetic appreciation, which is highly dependent on expertise and social norms as indicated by age.’