Essay about The Phenonmeon of Teen Mom

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.

Numerous studies have concluded that the content and amount of television programming watched by individuals – especially by children - has a direct result on the behavior of that individual. The behavior affected by television viewing can be anything from a desire for a certain food or material good to violent distemper (Zuckerman 1985.) Recently, more and more woman have given up their traditional role of raising their children opting instead to work during the day and leave their children to take care of themselves. Unfortunately, many children find that spending countless hours in front of the television to be a worthwhile way to entertain themselves. Most parents tell their children never to talk to strangers, but what they fail to realize is that every day their children are subject to the messages and ideas of strangers on the television. In fact, a study concluded that an average American by the age of 18 has spent more time watching television than they have spent in school; this study also went on the state that children spend more time watching television than any other activity besides sleeping. This may explain why an additional study revealed that if a child was told something by his or her parents and then viewed on television something that contradicted what the parents had said, four times out of five the child opted to believe the

The quality of American television has become a national disgrace. Young women in America who are displeased with their appearance more likely then not can trace those feelings directly back to images from the mass media on television. The unrealistic representations of women that the mass media bombards young women with indicates that the television has become a source for a distorted understanding of gender roles among adolescent women. These images warp young women’s views of their own gender identity. The mass media on television should in an attempt to provide more positive gender identities for adolescent women depict women on television in more realistic ways, should stop

The average American child watches 20 hours of television per week, that is 5,000 hours before first grade. Most children between the ages of 3-6 years old can even turn on the television and start a DVD by themselves. I am guilty of allowing my children more TV time then they should have, but I guess that is because I enjoy watching it myself. There are many hidden messages in children’s shows that I was oblivious to until now. For instance, in the show “Rugrats” Charlotte Pickles, Angelica’s mom never had time for her, always on the phone and working. Ethnic stereotyping is another message sent in Speedy Gonzalez’s cousin Slow Poke Rodriguez which is lazy, slow, and dim witted. Morality is also affected by these shows. Most every little boy

Some of the most popular television shows in today’s society are The Biggest Looser, Jersey Shore, and Big Brother. These programs and many others are classified as reality television. Reality television’s main purpose is to attempt to portray ordinary people in unscripted situations. Recently, however, many of these shows have achieved in creating the complete opposite, and have earned an immense amount of criticism as a result. Reality television programs are detrimental to society because they influence bad behavior among teenagers, do not produce authentic real life situations, and they humiliate many of the characters.

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

MTV, formally known as Music Television, is one of the most viewed networks on television today. Roughly thirty-three years old, it has changed the American culture drastically in more than just one way. Specifically targeting teens and young adults, the MTV network provides all of the most up to date gossip on celebrities, highlights the latest fashion trends, promotes versified lifestyles, and defines the music industry of our generation. However, this so-called “idolized network” has not always been this way. The American culture has been affected by MTV through the creation of the network, the transformation from simply just music television to inappropriate reality shows, and the promotion of inappropriate content.

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 first reason that Tv promotes harmful stereotypes is by airing bad shows. Teen Moms show encourages teens getting pregnant and how they should deal with the solution.. Among other tv shows that did the same thing in some way. When other people or even kids watch Teen Mom, they get so involved in the show. That the individual starts to believes that they would have handled the situation completely different. According to Time Magazine “ The New YorkPost pointed out in 2011 that three of Teen Mom 2 star Janelle Evans' friends had gotten pregnant within a year of Evans starring on the show. Nobody knows whether these friends purposely became pregnant to follow in Evans' footsteps”(Dockterman). These shows have encouraged people to get pregnant even if the MTV did not intend too. People are to influence by these shows even if they do not realize at first. I had a friend that use to watch

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.

“Modern Family” dialog is influenced by stereotypes that may affect viewer’s perception of reality and steps must be taken to educate on responsible viewing. As a response to the environment, people create cognitive schemes, which is the intellectual consumption of reality in its most simple form. It is created by influences from family, friends, media, and teachers. Creating stereotypes is a type of cognitive scheme that is developed by our observations in society (Wolska, 2011).

“Since the boom in reality television in 2000, eating disorders in teenage girls have nearly tripled” (“Reality Television”). However, women are not just sexualized only by their looks, but they are also sexualized in the content they say and how they are talked about on reality television. The Parents Television Council conducted a study about the most popular reality television series on the television. The study concluded, “There was a prevalence of sexual language used when referring to females” and “the words males used to describe females were often sexualized and/or degrading.” Some of the common words used to describe women on reality television found in the study included “DTF, good time, slut, whore, and porn star.”

In Growing Up With Television: Cultivation Process, Morgan, Shanahan and Signorielli assert that “long-term exposure to television tends to cultivate the image of a relatively mean and dangerous world (Morgan et al., 2009).” Rooted in the amount of time spent consuming content, the mean world syndrome is central to Gerber’s Cultivation Theory, or Effect. The theory states that they are viewing habits range from light to medium to heavy. Although subjective, the amount of time spent consuming content is a key component of cultivation effect. Morgan et al., noted that “the relative difference in viewing levels are more important than the specific amount of viewing (Morgan et al, 2009).”

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

There is no doubt that when it comes to American youth television is one of the biggest influences by far. Many parents would love to say that their child does not watch that much TV but in reality they are spending a lot of time watching television or using media in some way. “The study by the Kaiser Family foundation shows that children ages 2-8 spend an average of 5 ½ hours a day “consuming media” kids 8 and older spend even more time in front of the tube nearly 6 ¾ hours a day” (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005 ). Astonishingly, more time is being spent with media then doing homework, studying or even spending time with family. A child’s retention of what