False Image Of Teen Mom

“Young mothers...have done the unthinkable...engaging in sexual activity” (Friedman). The clear message is that the only way to prevent pregnancy is to stay abstinent. Friedman also points out that while the show heavily discusses the options of parenting or adoption when a teen becomes pregnant, they hardly ever mention the third option: abortion. The idea behind this is that the young women are supposed to suffer the consequences of their sexual activity, either through the public shaming, the hardships of parenting or the grief that comes with giving up your child for adoption. Women who choose abortion get the ‘easy way out’ and do not have to face the consequences of their actions. The young men in the show are not subject to the same criticism that the women are; clearly, it’s a misogyny thing! So how does the show attract so many viewers? The reason is likely because an audience is fascinated by the ‘immorality’ of these young

My mom learned the hard way with having a baby while still in school, she told me how stressful it was to do her school work, raise a child and work full time without even having the baby’s dad to help or her parents. The show “Teen Mom” shows the struggle of having to grow and give up on opportunities because of one mistake. Not only does this affect the mother but it also affects the child that will have to grow up with one parent or hardly getting by or watching the stress eat way at their parents.

What would make a group of girls decide that their future holds nothing greater than barely finishing high school and becoming a teen mom? There are multiple factors that can play into teen pregnancy. The first and probably the most obvious is the media. Young girls today are surrounded by pregnant starlets and glamorized comedies about getting pregnant as a teenager. The young Jamie-Lynn Spears stated “Being a mom is the best feeling in the world.” and “I had a perfect pregnancy and a perfect delivery. I was very blessed.”

Teenage Pregnancies have become more prevalent in modern times due to the changing attitudes of society. Alcohol, drugs, media exposure, and peer pressure are but a few of the contributing factors that result in teenage pregnancy. Many teens find themselves pregnant due to a lack of knowledge and parental guidance. Programmes like ’16 and Pregnant’ and ‘Teen Mom’ show and may influence the impressionable audience watching these shows that by having experienced numerous sexual partners, you can be accepted amongst friends, be cool, show that you’re an adult and not a child along with many more attributes, therefore showing acceptance and encouraging the youthful viewing

Over the past decade, teen pregnancy has become a more common occurrence. C. Write Mills explained the concept of the social imagination as the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and a larger society. The social issue of teen pregnancy can be looked at from a personal and public perspective. As a result of women becoming pregnant so early in life, many young women as well as their child and family can struggle emotionally and physically. Society is also changing due to the increasing amount of early

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.

When it comes to the topic of teen pregnancy, some of us will readily agree that shows like “Teen Mom OG” and “16 and Pregnant” promotes teen pregnancy. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of do these types of shows promote or discourage teens across the country from becoming teen moms. Whereas some are convinced that “Teen Mom OG” and “16 and Pregnant” have reduced teen pregnancy rates, others maintain that the producers have made stars out of these teen moms, with financial compensation most teen moms would not receive. But the deeper problem was once “16 and Pregnant” was successful, they did a spin off show called “Teen Mom OG.”

It’s understandable why believers hold the position that they do. Rather than truly offering viewers the understanding of everyday obligations of taking care of newborn child - cleaning poop stains, spit-up out of clothes, waking up in the middle night, MTV decides to concentrate on the young ladies' unstable relationships with the children’s fathers or their new piercings and tattoos. Teen Mom is suspected of having a copycat effect. In 2011, three of Teen Mom 2 star Janelle Evans’ friends had gotten pregnant within a year of Evans starring on the show. It’s unsure whether these friends purposely became pregnant to potentially get media attention, but clearly Evans did not serve as the wake-up call she was supposed to be even to her closest friends. This displays how the existence of the show can normalize teen

“People look at it so negatively but our show has opened so many eyes…we all have such a different story, and everybody relates to us” Maci Bookout from 16 and pregnant. 16 and pregnant was a hit American reality show which is shown on MTV, it was created in 2009 and centres around 4 16 year old girls pregnancy journey. After the show was aired it created a lot of controversy on wether the show educates the public about teenage pregnancies or wether it glamorises teenage pregnancies and allowed it to turn into a trend. The spin off show ‘Teen Mom’ was created to try and settle the controversy and show people that it does educate their viewers as teen mom follows the girls after they leave the hospital and shows viewers the hardship of being a teen mother.

Do you believe shows like ‘ 16 & Pregnant ‘ and ‘ Teen Mom ‘ glamorize teen pregnancy ? Or do you think they present a cautionary tale ? Studies began to show that in fact they don't glamorize it , yet they caused teenage pregnancy to decrease . Also teenage mothers have been showed as abused or in jail . Also some of these mothers haven't even finished school .

Research article authors Nicole Martins and Robin E. Jensen, intended to study the relationship between MTV’s series “Teen Mom” reality show and teenagers’ unrealistic beliefs about what is like to be a teen mom. The seven motivations for asking “why” are used to convince the audience that it is worthy of research by exploring the relationship with the intentions to discredit the previous findings that state, “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” is one of the best public service campaign to prevent teen pregnancy. This topic presents a number of complications in the lives of both induvial and societal as a whole; providing evidence to answer the readers question on why this topic is of importance and worthy of research. Yearly, $7 billion are taxed to all U.S citizens for welfare and healthcare relating to teen pregnancy, driving the United States to the top as the highest rated country with teen pregnancy. Consequently, almost half of teen mothers are unable to receive a high school diploma; leading to lower occupation income for both fathers and mothers. I myself have personally witnessed the toll it takes on one’s life from three women who became mothers at a young age. Many teens are unaware of the high risks and consequences of becoming pregnant or are in denial of the possibility. Being able to be a part of their journey has increased my belief of the importance on this topic and related research.

“MTV executives deny it, but when their young subjects vie for space with J-Lo and Jolie on the covers of People and Us Magazine, it's hard to say the shows aren't glamorizing teen motherhood”(Vlahos) Television providers are contradicting the cause via magazines. We are now constantly seeing the stars of popular shows such as 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom appearing constantly in the media. The number one example of glamorization of teen pregnancy is magazines. ‘“16 and Pregnant was originally designed by MTV to show viewers (mostly young women) what life as a pregnant teen was really like. Every time the show airs, MTV promotes a website called StayTeen.org that “encourage[s] you to enjoy your teen years and avoid the responsibilities

This article offers light to the negatives of the show, "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant." America is infamous for its high rate of teen pregnacies, and because of the showcasing, and big name that is presently showcased with being an adolescent mother, increasingly young ladies are attempting to take after these young lady's footsteeps and get to be high schooler moms themselves. While these shows do demonstrate the battle of being a high school mother, the young ladies highlighted in these shows are all over magazine covers and are even offered book bargains. This article clarifies the risky of the developing notoriety of adolescent parenthood and the young ladies who are seeking to be much the same as the young lady on

In response to critics of “16 and Pregnant”, MTV uses “Teen Mom” to give a realistic view of life with a child while “16 and Pregnant” just showed moments of the pregnancy and the baby shower. “Teen Mom” shows the struggle the teenagers go through which ranges from backlash from their family to financial issues, and they show this through the many arguments on the show such as between mother and father of the child or mom versus teenager. However, even though “Teen Mom” showed another side it still received criticism. “MTV chooses to focus on the girls' volatile relationships with the babies' fathers or their new body piercings and tattoos”, says Melissa Henson director of communications at Parents Television Council in an interview with