Teen Moms : The Impact Of Teen Mother In Our Society

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.

Each year, more than 600,000 teens become pregnant, and 3 in 10 will become pregnant before they reach age 20 (Secure et al., 2015). Rates are higher among black and Hispanic teens, with 4 in 10 becoming pregnant by 20 years of age, compared with 2 in 10 white teens (Secure et al., 2015). Even though over time the overall rate of teen pregnancy has decreased, it’s still very high and has a large impact on the teen parents as well as the families.

What girl wouldn't want to be on TV right? Teenage girls today are bombarded with tabloids and news about teen pregnancy. This causes a sort of fame to be associated with it. Sixteen and pregnant may be an exception to this but there are still other movies and shows that came out in the 2000’s that promote teen pregnancy. For example, the show Gilmore Girls shows a young mother and daughter’s journey in life. What this show tells the youth of today is entirely different. It shows that if you get pregnant in high school it’s not a big deal. In fact you will have an amazing mother daughter relationship that would make anyone

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

American teenagers take a lot of things for granted, but what we don’t take into consideration is what would happen if these things suddenly disappeared. Teenage life consists of school, jobs, driving, friends, sports, and going out with friends. We never consider others’ way of life. In some cultures, they are just fighting to stay alive, while others don’t have the freedom to go out with friends, or play a certain sport. They are so consumed in family life or their future jobs that they have no social life. No one ever thinks what would happen if their way of life was completely turned around. This concept is shown on a reality television show called 16 and Pregnant. It follows a group of teenage girls throughout their pregnancy and a

A nightmare can strike, even when the eyes of it’s victims are wide open. It can be unexpected, terrifying, a nightmare to see the dreaded two lines on the test- especially as a teenager. Even if teenagers are old enough to decide whether or not they want to engage in sexual intercourse, the rate of teenage pregnancy should be reduced as much as possible. Teenage pregnancy is not only expensive, but also puts the lives of the mother and child in danger.

Not only is reality TV inappropriate, but it can also humiliate people. For example, in Jersey Shore when the cast goes out to Karma, a club in Jersey, the cast gets drunk and embarrasses themselves because they start getting careless with their actions, cause trouble with other people and start revealing things on TV like skirts going up, tops coming down, etc. For a recovering addict, it is a disgrace to watch themselves and their families on programs like Intervention because they can look back at how they used to struggle in those “sticky situations” and it will always be a part of television entertainment. 16 and Pregnant shows couples and families getting into fights with each other and the cameras are always catching every moment of these battles along with the ups and downs of their struggle. This is what catches the viewers’ attention, dramatic fights. Poniewozik expresses how “it’s often women degrading themselves” and he does not want his “nine year-old thinking that’s the way girls should behave” (236). Basically, Poniewozik expresses how these shows, give people an insulting idea of women, so he forbids his daughter to watch these television

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.

Many teenagers of today are sexually irresponsible, leading to pregnancy. Often, these teenagers then use abortion as a form of birth control. MTV’s Teen Mom first appeared on the network in 2009. It almost immediately ignited a series of controversies between viewers all over the United States. This show allowed viewers to face the reality of the fact that many teenagers are unprepared due to the fact that they are not well informed by their schools on the topic of sex. When the first season of Teen Mom aired, the teen birth rate declined by nine percent, which was the biggest drop since 1964 (Maerz, 2012, p.1). This reality show gives individuals coverage of the lives of four teenage girls who are going through pregnancy, followed by life after the birth of their children. According to Maerz, 90 percent of teenage viewers have stated that the show makes pregnancy look “harder than I imagined” (2012, p.1). This shows that the reality show was

Married couples that have a baby think it is a gift from God, but it can be the exact opposite for a teen. Statistics show that almost 750,000 U.S teens become pregnant and 79% are unmarried each year (Facts On American Teens) Teens don’t think of the conflicts that come with raising a baby, they just imagine themselves being parents. Having a baby as a teenage mother is very difficult. It affects with your education, work.

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”?

I never thought having unprotected sex would lead to a teen pregnancy. However, I was wrong. Being young, immature, and thinking I was invincible led me to becoming a teenage mother. The disbelief came first, followed quickly by panic, before the realization and acceptance arrived. I had sex and I had to be mature and deal with the consequences and grow up faster than most teenagers. The days of my carefree teen life are now behind me as I tend to my eight month old son’s every need.

There is a great debate on whether or not mass media has an influence on teenage pregnancy. A study done by the RAND Corporation shows that teens are twice as likely to have sex or engage in sexual acts if they see similar sexual behavior in the media. Many objects in the media that involve sex target teens. Reality TV shows and teen dramas often portray the "cool kids" as the ones who are having sex (Chandra).Today’s teens are highly influenced by what they see in the media and this can change their behavior and choices. Some will argue that the media doesn’t influence teenagers, but how can we be sure of that? Today, the media portray teen pregnancy in movies, television shows, magazines, music, news reports, and books. The problems