Millennials have sculpted their lives into a minimalists oasis, from forgoing the cute colonial home with a big front lawn for a “tiny house” to rejecting the spending habits of past generations on material things and instead spending their paycheck on experiences and travel. The minimalist ways have gone a bit too far with engagement piercings, and who knows why.
No need to pick a setting, or choose between platinum, silver or gold. You don’t even need to get the ring sized. The diamond is pierced directly into the skin of the ring finger, among all the ligaments and veins.
This trend could have more to it than just millennials being crazy. According to a Washington Post report, the average engagement ring price in 2016 was about $6,000, while the average piercing price is much less than that. On the bright side, there is no chance of it falling down the drain or falling off in the ocean. But, these are all prices I am willing to pay.
The engagement ring is an iconic part of the wedding experience. There are thousands of pictures on Pinterest devoted to the perfect wedding ring shot. The circle of the band is supposed to symbolize infinite wholeness, a perfect sentiment to give to the person who is going to complete your life by marrying you.
This generation has bucked tradition in many remarkable and wonderful ways, but this trend leaves many scratching their heads.
The finger is a very bad place for a piercing because of the likelihood it will get infected. We use our hands a whole lot over the course of three months, which is how long an average piercing takes to heal. We wash them with soap multiple times a day, we eat with them, we open doors with them and we catch ourselves if we fall with our hands. None of those things are conducive to a happy healing process.
What is possibly even more iconic than receiving an engagement ring is throwing it at your significant other during a fight. This level of drama becomes exponentially more dramatic if you were to attempt this with an engagement piercing. There would be blood everywhere, a guaranteed infection and a definite trip to the hospital in your near future.
If you want to have an original engagement, there are other much less harmful engagement ring alternatives. Propose with something meaningful to them like a momento from your early dating days. If your thing was buying flowers every Friday, give them glass roses to symbolize your love will never die. Just don’t pierce your own finger.
Zoe Stitzer is a freshman studying journalism news and information at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Let Zoe know by tweeting her @zoe_stitzer.
