Final Presentation

My name is Brittney McCormick and for my topic I chose tanning beds and the body. The reason I chose this topic is because my mom has always told me that I was not allowed to use a tanning bed because I would get skin cancer, I wanted to prove her wrong so I used this as my way of doing so. I was hoping that I would be able to tan in the tanning bed for this project but due to my procrastination I was not able to. I enjoyed this project and learning about the facts and the things that we are told that are actually false.
The book I read was The Healing Sun, by Richard Hobday. By reading this book I learned a lot about the sun and what it can do for your body. The book itself was more on ways the sun can heal you more so than that of how it can harm you and how it differs from tanning beds, but I did learn a lot from the book. It basically said that you are at risk for skin cancer anytime you are exposed to UVA rays that are produced from the sun or the tanning bed lights.
For my interaction I went to ComopoliTAN and interviewed people and asked them some questions about skin cancer and tanning. Basically what I learned by this is that people think they are invincible from getting skin cancer. They also believe that they are addicted to tanning because they like the way it feels and the way that it makes them look.
The most interesting thing that I learned was that tanning beds are in a way healthier than laying out in the sun. You receive more Vitamin D but you are exposed to more UVA/UVB rays.
My final opinion on this project is that even though you are at risk when getting into a tanning bed and tanning I do not think that there is anything wrong with it.
I wish I had not procrastinated so long and gotten more into this project. In a way I wish I would have picked a different topic because this had a lot of science with it and sometimes it was boring. I also wish I would have picked a different book to read.

Interaction-Interview

For my live interaction/ interview, I spent part of my day at CosmopoliTAN and interviewed several people. I asked them questions about tanning and their thoughts on skin cancer. All of them said that they had not had skin cancer but had thought about their risk, however one said, “I am a little afraid of my skin cancer risk, but I feel like it won’t happen to me.” When I asked them if they thought they were addicted the majority of them said they thought they were because of the “glow” that they received after tanning. I also asked them if they had noticed any change of their skin since they began tanning and they said that, “I am tanner.” The main thing is that none of them are afraid of skin cancer and that is the biggest problem that I have found from my research.
From this experience I learned that people who tan are not worried about skin cancer. They all know about it but the majorities think they are invincible when it comes to their risk. I liked the facility and the people were very nice. However, I wish I could have been able to tan and do the interaction and interview that I wanted to do but this will suffice for me because of my procrastination. I enjoyed being there and learning about people’s thoughts when it came to tanning and skin cancer.

Fifth Critical Review

In the article, it says that tanning beds are generally safer than lying out for hours on end outside soaking up the rays of the sun. However, there are effects from tanning in a tanning bed. Overexposure to UV rays can alter your DNA which in turns leads to cancer. “The American Academy of Dermatology reports an increased risk of developing melanoma from overexposure to the skin on a tanning bed.” When talking about the eyes, tanning beds cause an increase of damage on the eyelids, or cataracts. One of the good things about tanning is that you receive Vitamin D.
I personally think that this is a truthful article because it gives both the negative and the positive sides to tanning in tanning salons. While eye damage seems to be a big deal it can be prevented by wearing the eye goggles. Also, it seems like you receive more Vitamin D from tanning salons instead of out in the sun. While cancer is a risk many think it is worth the risk because of our society today.


Sexton, Timothy. "Positive and Negative Tanning Bed Effects." Positive and Negative
Tanning Bed Effects. Lifestyle, 26 Feb 2009. Web. 16 Apr 2010. .