In the traditionally clean-cut neighborhood of Edwardsville, behind the white picket fences and sprouting perennials, it seems contradictory that teens would follow the increasing spike in tattooing, but more upperclassmen can be seen sporting thick black lines than ever before.

One Pew Research study in 2010 reported 40 percent of people between ages 18 and 29 have tattoos. According to the study, more parents are supporting their teens’ decision to get tattooed.

Senior Kaylie Wilson got her first tattoo as soon as she turned 16. She said her parents accepted her decision because the design had a special meaning (it’s a reminder of how to get through stressful situations) and because she considered the tattoo for a year before finally committing to the ink.

In Illinois, individuals under 18 can’t get tattooed, even with their parents’ permission, but the practice is becoming ever-more-common. Now, teens are crossing state lines to get inked as soon as possible.

Senior Beau Lewis, who sports 11 tattoos, said he got his first at 16, but had to go to St. Louis and have his parents sign their consent.

The biggest obstacle for teens and their parents doesn’t have to do with distance, the law or even the pain of a needle repeatedly stabbing through skin—it’s whether or not that tattoo will still be important in 20 years. But, of course, the permanence and intensity is what makes a tattoo appealing to so many.

“My lavender tattoo is one of my most dear ones because of its beauty and ties to emotion,” Lewis said. “I choose [my tattoos] based on what I feel. It’s a form of expression.”

Many tattoos act as a reminder (as Lewis’s lavender reminds him of beauty), but they can also act as a cultural indicator. The act of having a tattoo can inspire respect from others.

“Tattoos… have some style credibility because they reflect a willingness to ‘trade in skin,’” Victoria Pitts-Taylor, author of “In the Flesh: The Cultural Politics of Body Modification” said.

Whether teens get tattooed to remind themselves of special moments or simply for beauty, Wilson said scrutiny should be reserved. Simply because someone gets tattooed at age 16 instead of 25 doesn’t give others the right to pass judgement.

“If the tattoo has some kind of meaning to the person, then people shouldn’t judge,” Wilson said. “And what might seem irrelevant to you may mean a lot to another person, so people shouldn’t put others down for expressing themselves.”