The tattooing trend called ‘Stick n Poke’, which involves a young person jabbing a needle tipped with ink into their skin to make simple tattoos of things like hearts or smiley faces is dangerous, according to a doctor.

Kids will be kids
Kids with the tattoos often display their artwork on Facebook groups setup for that purpose, which encourages others to try their hand.

Søren Østergaard, the director of the Center for Ungdomsstudier (Centre for Youth Studies), told Metroxpress that the tattooing is simply typical behaviour amongst youngsters trying to express their “uniqueness”. He compared it to piercings and the use of ear stretchers and said that many cultures have similar “transition rituals”.

A really sick smiley
Jørgen Serup, a doctor a Bispebjerg Hospital, was not so benign about the homemade tattoo craze

“There is a significant risk associated with making your own tattoos with a pin,” he said. “It’s like driving through a red light with your hands over your eyes.”

Serup said that Stick n Poke tattoos could lead to infections resulting is abscesses and blood poisoning. The latter may, in the worst cases, even be life-threatening.

Setup advised that anyone with a tattoo that has become infected seek medical treatment immediately.