Teen Pregnancy

     At least once a week I will look on my Facebook and I will see several of my friends saying something about how they can’t wait to see tonight’s “Teen Mom” episode, or  tonight’s “16 and Pregnant” episode, and every time I read it, I roll my eyes.  I don’t understand why someone would want to watch such garbage. My boyfriend’s little sisters are always watching one of them and it makes me makes me mad because they are fifteen years old and I don’t want them to get the wrong idea. It seems to me that teens that are watching this show will get the wrong idea about being a teen mom. I mean, these girls had a baby when they were fifteen or sixteen years old, and because of that, they are getting to be on TV and they are making money for it. However, I was doing some research, and perhaps I’m wrong. I came across an article written by the Senior Vice President of MTV Lauren Dolgen, explaining why she created “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant.”  She came across an article that affected her profoundly. It was an article talking about Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy. Inside the article she said that it had statistics about how many teens are pregnant every year that do not have a lot of money like Ms. Spears did to give her a boost.  Critics like me say that these shows are glamorizing teen pregnancy and making it look fun. To be fair, the girls in these shows are being made to overcome some pretty rough obstacles and make some pretty tough decisions that a teenage girl shouldn’t have to make.  Dolgen then goes on to say, “We believe that our audience is smart enough to view "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant" as the shows were intended -- as cautionary tales about the consequences of unprotected sex, and the reality of becoming a parent too early.” I have recently viewed “16 and Pregnant” and I understand what she is saying. If you watch the show you will see it is much like a documentary. These girls are going through rough times such as having to give their babies up for adoption, relationship difficulties, and having to find a job to raise their baby that will soon be arriving. I do recall that my boyfriend’s sister, Ashley said while we were watching the show, “I will never have kids until I am older! Their lives look hard!” I couldn’t believe it when I heard it!  Another article states that “A report released Dec. 21st, 2010 by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reported that 82% of teens say that by watching the show they have a better understanding of the struggles and challenges that teen parents face.” Who would have thought that a simple reality TV show could help bring down teen pregnancy rates? I have a new appreciation for this show and I will not longer view it negatively!