a friend of mine was a tan-aholic. i kept telling her that she would end up looking like a gucci handbag by the time she was 30 if she kept it up
i am fair and over the years have learnt to accept it. it is difficult seeing as there are many girls so tanned from spending so much time at the beach and in the sun, as is the australian culture. i could not tell you how much i got teased at school for being fair. of course now with public figures such as Nicole Kidman and Marcia Cross for example, it is more accepted that you don't have to be tanned to be beautiful. I must say that some of my favorite idols were/are very fair.
anyway, a uv ray is a uv ray. so long as you understand that a tanning bed is not any less damaging to your skin than the sun. they are one in the same.
go the fake tan if you are really keen on tanning, but remember to wear sunscreen out and about too. being tanned does not make you any less susceptable to burning.