‘Guilty pleasure’: Gen Z knows tanning is unhealthy, they just don’t care

Is Gen Z oblivious to the dangers of the sun or are they just taking an educated risk by continuing to tan obsessively? We hit the beach to find out.

Tan lines are considered a “guilty pleasure” by some young Victorians, with many trying to strike a balance between sun safety and still enjoying the sun.

A generation who grew up with campaigns like “no hat, no play” and Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide, most of Gen Z is educated about the importance of being sun smart.

Despite being armed with the knowledge of how dangerous the Australian sun is, a group of young people told the Herald Sun they believed that, if they wore sunscreen, tanning was fine.

Others, however, believed there was no tan worth their health.

It comes as the Herald Sun exclusively revealed young people were intentionally sunburning tanlines into their chests as part of an online trend.

Sisters Katija and Liliana love to tan but always make sure to wear sunscreen. Picture: Mark Stewart

Sisters Jordyn and Mia Avery, 25 and 23, both love the sun and warm weather, but choose to opt on the side of caution, favouring hats, sunscreen and cover-ups on high UV days.

“As someone who doesn’t tan naturally, I have to be careful. I’ve kind of accepted that if I intentionally lie in the sun to tan, it won’t work – so I just don’t bother,” Mia said.

“In my opinion, there’s no point if you’re just going to be sunburnt and in pain afterwards.

“You can still enjoy summer, you just don’t have to deal with consequences the day after.”

Jordyn said she was concerned about the resurrection of tanning culture, but doesn’t believe it is due to a lack of education.

Sisters Jordan and Mia choose to stay sun smart when the UV is high. Picture: Mark Stewart

“We’ve been hearing since primary school about how to be sun smart, so we all know that tanning isn’t good for you – it’s just that people care more about being tanned than looking after their skin,” she said.

“I think influencers definitely play a part in that culture and have a responsibility to promote safe sun practices, because a lot of young people really look up to them and want to copy what they do.”

Liljana Aleksovski, 20, said she loves to tan but is always careful about wearing sunscreen, getting shade when needed and staying hydrated.

“I definitely love going to the beach but I think it’s so important to be safe in the sun, and make sure you’re doing things like always wearing sunscreen.

“If you’re doing the right things, I think tanning is okay for you,” she said.

Many young people believe that tanning is okay if you wear sunscreen. Picture: Mark Stewart

Co-owner and chief executive of the Keep It Cleaner fitness app Lauren Henshaw has a large following on social media and is one of the few influencers trailblazing sun safety.

In a recent video posted to TikTok, Henshaw demonstrated easy sun safety by showing how she would dress if the UV was at ten – with a hat, sunglasses and a cover-up shirt to protect her skin.

The comment section was full of support for the message, with one woman posting how she had “just been diagnosed with a melanoma at 28”.

“I wish I had been safer in the sun. Please wear SPF people, the only safe tan is in a can,” she wrote.

Australia has the highest rates of melanoma in the world, with one Australian dying from the aggressive skin cancer every six hours.

It comes as Melbourne braces for a blisteringly hot weekend, with Saturday and Sunday both forecast to reach nearly 40 degrees.

Originally published as ‘Guilty pleasure’: Gen Z knows tanning is unhealthy, they just don’t care