How familiar are you with the shows "16 & Pregnant," "Teen Mom" and "Secret Life of the American Teenager?" If somehow you have been under a rock for the past couple of years, each of these shows focus, or attempts to focus , on the struggles and life that a teenage mother has to endure while being pregnant and the immediate impact after giving birth. The first two are reality shows, while the later is a television series.
I have always wondered what message these type shows give to teenage girls. Some have said that these shows have caused a "Juno effect." "Juno" was the name of a movie where the title character was a teenager who became pregnant and initially decided to have an abortion , but later decides to put the child up for adoption. The "Juno effect" says that pop-culture glamorizes teenage pregnancy, causing teenagers to become pregnant or to believe that being a teenage mother is not difficult.I don't know if I think it increases pregnancy but I do believe that these shows have glamorized what it means to be a teenage mother.
Granted not every teenage mother has a hard life;however, those numbers definitely fall below the numbers for those teenage mothers who do have a hard life.
I haven't seen that many episodes of these shows, but how often do we really see these mothers struggling? In Secret Life, we saw the teenage mother being chased after a guy who came from a wealthy family. He wanted to step in take care of the mother and her child. I eventually quit watching but I think the he got over that.
Like the other shows, we never saw the real struggles that most mothers have to go through. I don't know if I have ever seen an episode of a mother applying for WIC, food stamps or any other type of assistance.
Even though the reality shows tell the stories of girls from different backgrounds and areas of the country, we don't have the opportunity to see a variety of women from many ethnic backgrounds, which is definitely a problem. If the show is looked at for being successful at telling the story of teenage mothers, it leaves out other ethnic groups. For some teenage girls, that could make them think that "this" doesn't happen to girls from their particular ethnicity, so they don't need to worry about pregnancy. If the shows are going to attempt to tell this important message, they should definitely attempt to make sure that other groups are included in the story.
What do you think about these shows? Are these shows glorifying teenage pregnancy? Do you disagree and think that these shows have done a good job at raising awareness on what it means to be a teenage mother?
Let me know.
They actually had a 16 and pregnant marathon for Mother's Day, how fitting. I don't know if I have an opinion quite yet on this "Juno Effect" or the awareness factor (in relation to pregnancy). I will say I watched the marathon, and had seen several of the episodes multiple times by then. MTV does a decent job of addressing dating violence and issues like that through these reality shows (I'm sure that wasn't their initial intention but, hey!) And, 16 and pregnant makes me beyond scared to ever get in a relationship and have children! Particularly out of wedlock! Just to let it be known, I am out of high school, and finishing up my Bachelor's degree and this show makes me scared sick to ever have kids (much more than the tons of friends I know who have kids haha). I also feel like while watching this show as an adult it's given me a lot of perspective on past loves lost. However, I am probably not the target audience and my experience with this show is from a completely different field than a 16 year old. I do believe that young(er) people may be influenced and not understand that becoming pregnant and being in a relationship and all that it entails is probably too grown for their own good. But hey, that's just my thoughts.
ReplyDeletefeisty
You make a good point. Even though I think the show neglects to mention other important information, I do think that the show does do a good job at evaluating relationships as a teenage mother. At times, it seems to be the main focus. Perhaps because that is where most of the drama comes from. I like that it shows how the couple attempts to make it work for the sake of the child, but we all know that sometime that just isn't enough. It's also important because hopefully it teaches them that just because you get pregnant, it doesn't mean that you are going to get the guy.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to post a comment from my tablet! :) I do believe that shows like teen mom and movies like the pregnancy pact are bad influences on teenagers who already have low self esteem. A young girl who just wanted to be loved wll watch shows like these and think that a baby might just be the answer to all of her problems. I blogged today about how children and teenagers are usually fed their dream by watching televsion. In this day and age, with the tv as a teacher we cannot underestimate the power of the media.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100 percent. Not only are they glorifying teenage pregnancy, but they are also adding a sense that teenage mothers will be pitied. In my opinion, this is not the case. They have to grow up...and fast. Maybe a good way to improve the show would be to film past the "awww it's a new baby" stage to show the real story, but perhaps that wouldn't be economically feasible.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments! All are definitely great points.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the said shows can indeed set a bad example for young people, but I also believe their intentions are to show the hardships of teenage mothers and their families. However, I do agree that they don't show ALL of the hardships, which is basically IMPOSSIBLE to do in just an hour of air time. I would indeed appreciate these shows more if they showed how some had to apply for WIC and other assistance programs. The shows seem somewhat "watered down" to me. No one has a real struggle! They still live under their parents' roof. Their parents babysit their children. And the fathers of the children are still around! The shows just make everything look so easygoing without any real repercussions for their actions. SMH. They're nothing like the situations that I've known. If this is reality TV, where's the reality? Who's reality is it?
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of the "Juno Effect", but it makes a lot of sense. Only, I don't think it's making girls want to try to get pregnant. Rather, I think they are not as fearful of getting pregnant because they assume they will meet few challenges, as they've seen on tv.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!