Teenage Pregnancy Vs Reality Tv

Improved Essays
Nearly all teens say they do not want to get pregnant, but most of them have never really thought about how getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant would affect their lives (“About Us” 1). In 2009, MTV aired the documentary television show titled 16 and Pregnant for the first time. The show is about an hour long and focuses on the controversial subject of teen pregnancy. Each episode outlines a different teenage girl’s life in which they are faced with incredibly adult decisions (“About the Show” 1). By becoming pregnant at the age of 16, these girls are forced to sacrifice their teenage years and their high school experiences (“About the Show” 1). The television show was initially aired to prevent teenage pregnancies from occurring in the future, as well as to encourage teenagers to use a form of contraception if they are sexually active. While teenage pregnancies have yet to come to an end, since the show has aired about 20,000 teenage pregnancies have been prevented. 16 and pregnant is a phenomenal television show for teenagers to watch because by witnessing the reality of the girls from the show becoming mothers at a young age, it will encourage other teenagers to prevent it from happening to themselves. The first episode of 16 and Pregnant aired in June of 2009 …show more content…
They expect the show to be about teenagers who are applauded for getting pregnant at a young age. In actuality, the show is actually very influential and informative. MTV’s 16 and Pregnant inspires viewers and helps them make better decisions for their own lives. The show educates teenagers on how their lives would be forced to change if they were to make the same uneducated decisions as the cast of the show. The show was aired to prevent more young girls from getting pregnant, and since 16 and Pregnant first aired, teenage pregnancy rates have dropped proving the show has made an impact on

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The popular TV series 16 & Pregnant was produced by Morgan J. Freeman. The producers of 16 & Pregnant capture the lives of teenage moms before and after the birth of their children. The reality TV show was produced to show how hard it is to be a teen mom; however, the producers glamorize the teen’s journey through and after their pregnancy. In reality every teen mom do not have the financial support, family support or the publicity that the cast members of this reality TV show is shown to have.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The answer is also simple: no. Television shows and movies do not glorify young mothers. These shows portray teenage parenthood realistically. “16 and Pregnant” is a reality television show on MTV that began airing in 2009. This show follows a girl, her family, and the baby’s father from the first few months of the pregnancy, through the birth, to the first months of the babies’ life.…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “There Goes My Life” – Kenny Chesney Teenage pregnancy, the act of a youth girl, ages thirteen to nineteen, becoming pregnant in her teenage years, hence the term, teenage pregnancy. In the year 2007, 4.2% of teenage girls became pregnant, while in the year 2014, 2.4% of teenage girls became pregnant in the United States (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). Although the percentage difference may seem small, that’s a radical change in teenage pregnancy when compared to the actual population. Teenage pregnancy rates declined overtime because teenage girls were more attentive of the long-term penalties, the upswing of technological enhancements in medicine, social media, knowledge on sex and the tradition of abstinence. Some musicians…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Approximately 50% of all 15-19 year olds are sexually active as of 2003. A 270% increase of sexual interactions has occurred during family hour in 1996 compared to 1976. Teen sexual interactions has been an issue for many years and isn't breaking news. Since 1991, the United States pregnancy rate has decreased by about 250%, but that doesn't mean that the problem is solved. In a study of 75 adolescent girls, one-half of whom were pregnant, said that the pregnant teens watched more soap operas before becoming pregnant and thought less of using birth control because the characters wouldn't seem likely to use it.…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Over the last decade, the number of teenage pregnancies in the United States has been on a steady decline. Television shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom are using the media as a platform to have open discussions about pregnancy preventions and young motherhood. While teenage pregnancy is decreasing, it is still high. It is very important to educate teens and young adults on young pregnancies and the effects on themselves and their children. Children who are born to teenage mothers are faced with struggles in their lives due to higher risks for birth defects and health issues, education struggles, and the likelihood of teenage pregnancies themselves.…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Defeat the Stereotype Proverbs 24:16 says, “For the righteous one may fall seven times, and he will get up again, But the wicked will be made to stumble by calamity.” If God forgives, why do we let other people’s opinions get to us? There are teenage girls who do not come from a religious family or even a family who cares, which may lead them to make the wrong choices. Having sex before marriage has many risks, but becoming pregnant at a young age can be one of the toughest consequences to deal with. But who says there is no hope for them?…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When the show first aired six girls allowed MTV to film their pregnancies, in hope that young teenagers will watch the show. And they would learn that getting pregnant at a young age is very hard, and those challenges will last a lifeline and you’re not even grownup yet. That waiting to start a family is what’s best for everyone. “Four years into 16 and pregnant’s run, teen pregnancy rates are at a record low. Rates dropped nine percent from 2009-2010 alone, reaching a historic low of 34.3 births per 1000 women aged 15-19” (Dockterman, Time Magazine).…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Teen Mom Awareness

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages

    16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom cast face challenges like emotional issues, financial issues, and shame that come from the teens family members and peers. By displaying scenes of the teen moms struggling with life issues the producer hopes to let the young audience know that a baby crying late at night is not the only problem teenage mothers are confronted with. The two television shows also captures scenes of how teenage mothers must be ready to make sacrifices. Some teen moms become high school dropouts or will not enter college as a sacrifice to take care of their newborn. A few teen moms from the cast choose to sacrifice and place their newborn up for adoption so they could continue their teenage lifestyle.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Juno Role Model

    • 1694 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Round and Round it Goes: Will the Cycle Ever End? Today, teenage pregnancy seems to be glorified in shows like 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and the movie Juno, just to mention a few. These shows do not always correctly portray how difficult teenage girls can have it when they have children at such a young age. Not to mention the fact that even though the show allows the audience a “glimpse” into the girls’ lives, the girls still get paid for being on the show which offers them support that other adolescent mothers do not have, and even though some of the girls do give their children up for adoption as Juno did in the movie, the fact still remains that adoption may not be an option for other girls and that these shows and the movie glorified…

    • 1694 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Americans are fascinated with the concept of teen parenting. If you’ve ever seen 16 and Pregnant or Teen Mom on MTV it is shown the glorified images of the reality of teen parents. It has become a nation topic not with actual concern but, in ridiculing those who wind up pregnant at such a young age for entertainment. While, there are commercials and ads that shame teen parents such as, “You should be saving the world not diapers,” it fails to ignore the damages these words have on young parents. These teen mothers on the reality TVs shows are glorified and filled with unnecessary drama.…

    • 1784 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Promote Teenage Pregnancy

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages

    When it comes to the topic of, "Do Shows Like "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom” Promote or Discourage Teenage Pregnancy", most of us will readily agree that these shows do promote teenage pregnancy, where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of how do these shows promote teenage pregnancy. Whereas most of us are convinced that they promote teenage pregnancy by bringing fame to these once ordinary teenagers, others maintain that these shows discourage teenage pregnancy by showing the harsh realities of what being a teenage parent is all about. However, in reality, from any angle you look at this controversial topic you will see that these shows do both. On one hand, yes, they do promote teenage pregnancy, but on the other,…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Teen Pregnancy Definition

    • 1586 Words
    • 7 Pages

    At 17, a young man becomes a father after over counter pregnancy test and Dr. Office appointments. It is real there is a baby. Nobody knows or really thinks about how serious becoming a teen parent really is until it’s too late.…

    • 1586 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    TV And Teen Pregnancy

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Popular shows on television networks such as “MTV” can have a great impact on a young person’s life. Displaying the “Real Life” situations such as the every growing popular show “16 and Pregnant”. This show documenting your women’s lives as they come to a close on their unexpected pregnancies and the delivery of their new lives. Making teen pregnancy look glamorous and fun. Putting a mask on the real issue.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Teen Mom 2 A teenage girl finds out that she is pregnant, she decides to keep the baby and doesn’t realize the hardships that come with raising a child. Let’s add in a couple of girls in the same predicament and a camera crew that follows them around for a couple of years. There you have it, a reality television show that follows the lives of teen moms, with a very straightforward title: Teen Mom 2.…

    • 1336 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Teenager getting pregnant for has been frowned on many years Every parent has high hopes and dreams for their children the News of a “baby coming can be shocking and disappointing to parents. But this story is not about facts of teen pregnancy, it is a story about a young girl who overcame the impossible At the time of conception, she still believed that anything could be possible. That young girl was me. It was 1986, Ronald Reagan was president, Mike Tyson was the youngest heavy weight champion in America, and the Challenger was headed to space before disintegrating on television.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays