Body piercing has become so common that it’s not even unusual to meet a person who has several piercings. I wonder where and when this trend started. Personally, I believe that teens in particular may opt to get pierced because of peer pressure, or because they want to seem “cool” and accepted by certain people at school. However, pressure from others can make a person do things impulsively that they might regret later.

I think that the media has a lot to do with why teens want to get pierced. Just about every “teen” channel you click on, whether it’s B.E.T., VH1, or MTV, there’s a show where members of the cast are sporting some sort of body piercing. Just as the media shows us that being a size “2”, having perfect skin and long, flowing hair is the ideal look, I believe that the media also tries to persuade teens that piercing every inch of their body is beautiful as well.

I remember when I was an incoming seventh grader; none of the girls or boys had piercings. Now, lots of my friends have at least one piercing in their eyebrow, tongue, nose or someplace else on their body. I’m not saying that it’s a completely bad decision for someone to get pierced; it’s their body! However, people should take a moment to stop and think about how a piercing will affect their appearance. Having certain types of piercings can even limit their job opportunities. All I’m saying is that teens should make an informed decision about body piercing before getting pierced, rather than letting the media or peer pressure influence them.

-Christina