16 And Pregnant

Reality shows that are based on teen pregnancy like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom sheds light about the troubles on becoming a teen parent, finishing high school and struggling to buy the baby’s need and wants. Lately, these shows are stirring a debate if they are trying to support or avoid teen pregnancy. And this topic is important to the public, because it relates to the young community’s future. Young girls and boys can watch these shows and have different outlooks about having a child. Sometimes, glamorizing teen pregnancy on television might confuse the young community, because they can be fickle at times. They might think it is acceptable to be pregnant so young and others will consider waiting until marriage. Reality shows can either encourage or discourage teen pregnancy based on the individual’s mentality.

In the motion picture The Pregnancy Pact a group of high school girls, no older than sixteen, make a pact to become pregnant. Their goal, instead of graduating together, was to have only girls and raise them together. Throughout the movie the girls make references to the pregnant Jamie-Lynn Spears and the movie Juno stating that being fifteen or sixteen and pregnant was the most glamorous thing that could happen to them and not one thing would top being pregnant. This didn't end that way though. Instead the girls realized that having a child so young is not a walk in the park. The media’s perception of teenage pregnancy has changed over time from being a social taboo to a glamorous after school activity. This change

Teen pregnancy rates have dropped during the 1990s as a result of the fact that the authorities implemented programs meant to instruct teenagers concerning the risks associated with unprotected sex. The fact that safe sex-related programs have also experienced progress thus means that teen pregnancies should have continued to drop throughout the 2000s. "Controversies are battled out over whether or not television shows such as "16 and Pregnant" or "Teen Mom" are warnings of this phenomenon to others in the same age group, or if the premise of the shows manages to glorify young motherhood instead" (Fenster). The authorities consider that the success experienced by safe-sex programs during the 1990s means that it would be wrong for them to invest more resources in these agendas.

They also found that the show ‘16 and Pregnant’ led to more searches, tweets and Facebook posts on abortion and birth control…Hopefully educating teens on how not to get pregnant! The question “Could exposure to these media images of pregnant teens and very young new mothers have had an impact on how teens think about pregnancy and ultimately on whether they become teen mothers themselves?” does present itself. The timing of the introduction of ’16 and Pregnant’ could have helped the rapid decline of teen pregnancy over the past few years. An economic study argues that ’16 and pregnant’ may have contributed to one-third of the decline in the 18 months after its release. The researchers also looked to see whether high viewership in certain areas corresponded with a bigger drop in teen births…yes it did! “The results of our analysis indicates their exposure to ’16 and pregnant’ was high and that it had an influence on teens thinking, regarding birth control and abortion” the researchers write. That’s all well and scientific, but could a television show really have that big of an impact on teen birth rates? “It’s an extraordinary study done by two very cautious economists” said Bill Albert, chief programme officer at the national campaign to prevent teen and unplanned pregnancy. While the researchers said they did a lot of” fancy economic work” to make sure their conclusion was one hundred percent accurate, the most compelling evidence came from the teens social media. The researcher had quoted some of findings to CNN. “This reminds me to take my birth control” and “watching sixteen and pregnant, going to take my birth control”, she said she had remembered reading…of course no one is crediting MTV alone for the declining teen birth rate, “About half of the recent dramatic decline can be attributed to the recession” the researcher said.

Many believe the children are solely responsible for their carelessness that results in early pregnancy. Looking at this problem more broadly, one can see all of the social changes that influence teen pregnancy. For example, the media promotes sex and relationships. According to the RAND Health researcher, Jeffrey Wasserman, children ages 12-18 who saw the most sex on television were twice as likely to initiate intercourse within the next year as to those who saw the least amount of sex in the media (2017). Many television shows and movies contain sexual scenes, but most of them don’t explain the risks of sexual activity. Moreover, teen pregnancy has become more widely accepted. While many still believe it’s wrong, this problem has become unfortunate but acceptable. With shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, the mass media even rewards these teenages for their early pregnancies. The acceptance of early pregnancy has increased, but people are still embarrassed to talk about sex to children and teenagers. Teen pregnancy can be prevented, and it starts with a change in

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 86 percent of mothers who give birth out-of-wedlock are teenagers. MTV’s show “16 & Pregnant,” which has only been on air since June 2009, is already reflecting the rapid boom in teenage pregnancy across various cities in America. Since the early eighties MTV has been considered somewhat of a cultural phenomenon for American adolescents and its depiction of gender has a strong impact that continues to this day (Holtzman 2000). Created by Morgan J. Freeman (director of teen shows Dawson’s Creek and Laguna Beach), the show “16 & Pregnant” has been said to be guilty of exacerbating, normalizing and even glorifying teen pregnancy. Perhaps, it’s just reflecting a current social dilemma

Teen pregnancy is a growing epidemic in the United States. Teen girls are becoming pregnant at an alarming rate, with a lot of the pregnancies planned. With television shows broadcasting shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”, it is giving teenage girls the idea that it is alright to have premarital sex and become pregnant. It is in a way condoning teen pregnancy.

Based on the readily available images broadcast from films, MTV and other mass media, one might assume that the teen pregnancy epidemic is on the rise. In one respect, this health risk condition has rarely been more culturally visible than it is right now. However, it does bear noting that teen pregnancy has actually been on the decline in the United States over the last two decades. According to the source provided by Sheets (2012), "from 1990 to 2008, the teen pregnancy rate decreased 42 percent (from 117 to 68 pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls)."

I. Attention getter: (show slide of pregnant girls) How many of you have ever seen television shows like “16 and Pregnant”, “Teen Mom”, or “The Secret Life of an American Teenager”?

The Article “UA Researcher Finds Negative Impact of MTV Show ’16 and Pregnant’” proves that the show doesn’t have the impact it hoped to have. In the article there are two groups, one group of girls watched an episode of “16 and Pregnant” and the other an episode of “Made.” Aubrey, head researcher, states “Girls who watched ‘16 and Pregnant,’ when compared with the control group, reported a lower perception of their own risk, for pregnancy and a greater perception that the benefits of teen pregnancy outweigh the risks” (Harwood). MTV thought teens would see the hardship of the girls starred in “16 and Pregnant” but all they seen where the benefits of having a baby. The group of teens that seen “16 and Pregnant” didn’t care about how having a baby would change their

The goal ( of teen mom shows) was to educate teen girls on the harsh reality of teen motherhood; however, teens only saw the sweet love stories and an adorable baby. Furthermore, girls were attempting to get pregnant in hopes to be on the show. Lastly, at first when a girl is known to be pregnant many people criticize her; after a while, she will most likely gain positive

Cases that involve teenage pregnancy are often complicated and affect a large network of people. The case involving Katharine Westley is a case of teen pregnancy. Katharine is a 17 year old high school student who contacted the Family and Children’s Services: Unmarried Parents Services. Recently, Katharine discovered that she and her boyfriend of six months, James Koslik (age 19), are expecting a child. The parents of both Katharine and James have stated that they have certain expectations for their children. They are asserting their beliefs and moral onto their children. For instance, they think that the two should get married, get jobs, and raise the child. The parents even offered to help Katharine and James “get off to a

By eliminating the glamorous lifestyles of teenage parents, we will help teens face the reality that being a parent is ultimately difficult. The teen parents should help send out the message that it is hard to live life as a teenage parent and that television shows don’t fully depict the hardships that come along with raising children. Instead of having shows that glamorize pregnancy, we should have shows that educate teens on the real facts of being pregnant. Too many shows out there demonstrate how teen moms have help from their parents, baby’s father, and their friends. By showing teens that such outcomes are rare, and the truth is most of them don’t have the cash flow that celebrities have, they’ll end up struggling and facing the fact that raising children is complicated. Many of the teen moms have parents and nannies to help care for their children and this wouldn’t be the case for most teens. Cases such as Jamie Lynn Spears show how a teenager can be put into the spotlight while making pregnancy seem fun and cool. Teens want to replicate celebrities if they see that they are living a fun lifestyle. Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol Palin, was on the cover of many magazines during her pregnancy. After the pregnancy, she participated in the show, “Dancing with the Stars.” This leads teens to believe that being a mom might

A topic in American society that has proved to be an ongoing, and growing issue is that none other than teen pregnancy. In recent years, teen pregnancy rates have been increasing, which ultimately led to the topics increase of public and media attention. In American society teen pregnancy is often associated with negligence, as well as being irresponsible. In American society sex education for children is underdeveloped and instead society tends to use fear and shame to highlight/combat the dangers of unsafe or underage sex. American society uses fear to instill the idea that if you become pregnant as a teenager you are a burden to society. Along with fear society loves to shame its young women who have unfortunately stumbled upon the

By having all these new problems to deal with without a fully developed maturity the mother can also suffer from emotional and mental stagnation. Her peers may reject her as society deems teenage pregnancy unacceptable. She may feel humiliated and ashamed after her pregnancy begins to show, so then she refuses to finish school and as a result she lessens her ability to effectively raise her child. When teenage mother are pregnant, they are the least likely of all maternal age groups to get early and regular prenatal care. There are many teen mothers who receive late or no prenatal care at all. After giving birth, the majority of girls drop out of school in order to care of the baby. If there is no one else to share the endless amount of work, she must assume full responsibility. She may be forced to pursue employment with a minimal of earning potential due to her lack of education. This scenario tends to breed an unstable and financially insecure parent, and the child may also suffer from neglect by the constantly working mother.