THIS IS NOT AIMED AT ANY PERSON IN PARTICULAR. IT IS NOT MEANT TO BELITTLE ANYONE, ONLY TO RANT ON THE IGNORANCE OF CERTAIN SHOWS AND HOW IRRESPONSIBLE THEY ARE.
The youth of our world are very impressionable, to say the least. This seems to be one of the main constants throughout all of time, in regards to adolescents. Show them the newest “cool” rapper, and they go out and buy the disc that very day. Plaster photos of the hottest new actor on the covers of their magazines, and they create a fan page dedicated to that actor, with the claim that “I knew about him way before any of you.” It’s actually sad how susceptible to pressure they are.
MTV currently has a show on regularly called “Sixteen and Pregnant,” which chronicles the life of a pregnant teenager. They follow the teenager to doctors appointments, to school, show them going through labor, and, inevitably, show them fighting with the father of their child. It’s very “cookie-cutter” each week in that the same things take place, just with a different teenager each time.
There is also a show, which is a follow-up to “Sixteen and Pregnant,” called “Teen Mom,” which, again, chronicles the day-to-day activities of teenage mothers. The cameras follow the girls to work, to daycare to pick up their children, and, of course, show them fighting with their child’s father.
The sad part is that MTV is showing young kids that, if they were to get pregnant, there is a chance that they will get to be on television. It’s always the same type of girl on the show. Ignorant, usually very dense, and uninformed about many things, including child care and birth control. I don’t mean to be so direct or mean toward these girls, but if anyone has watched either of these shows, they know exactly what I mean.
A lot of the girls thought that “pulling out” was an acceptable form of birth control. One girl actually blamed her high school and health class for her pregnancy, because the teacher didn’t tell her, specifically, that the “pulling out” method might lead to pregnancy. Some of them take responsibly for their pregnancy, but a lot of the girls on either show blame everyone except for themselves.
Another girl, who was on both shows, beats on her baby’s father on a regular basis, and thinks that it is fine to do so in front of their toddler daughter. She then cries when he takes the baby away, and threatens to call the police on him. She is now facing charges for domestic abuse, and says that she only beats on him because she is depressed. Again, blaming everyone and everything except for herself.
The bottom line is that ignorant hicks such as the ones shown on these shows should not be shown such programming, because all they want is a story to tell and a quick pay day. Give them a television appearance and a small stack of cash, and they will be squeezing out babies left and right, as often as possible.
Dr. Drew Pinsky is a part of these shows, and he hosts the reunion episodes at the end of each season. Normally, he hosts quality shows that have a plethora of health tips and precautionary information. I’m sure that there are countless people who can credit their sobriety, abstinence, and lack of sexually transmitted diseases to him and his television and radio shows. In the beginning, this show was probably aimed at being a deterrent for teens, frightening them enough so that they would remain abstinent, or, at the very least, use proper birth control methods, such as condoms, birth control pills, intrauterine devices (IUD’s), etc. But now, the whole message has changed, and I think that it’s time to pull the plug on shows such as these.
Granted, there are a lot of followers to these shows, and thousands of people will be angry if it ends now. But it’s lowering IQ’s everywhere, and giving stupid people stupid ideas, furthering their stupidity.
Maybe I’m being a tad on the harsh side, but without someone giving a completely callous and impartial opinion on the matter, people will fall into the same old television viewer cycle of “view, absorb, and repeat.” It’s not just teenagers who are impressionable, and many adults lack the skills to be able to transition into “responsible adult” from “impressionable teenager“.
This show only ever shows young girls who get pregnant by their boyfriend, or the boy who was their boyfriend at the time of said conception. The show progresses with the couple together, and ends with a newborn child and either a teenage couple who are still together, or teenage couple who have split up. They never show the pregnancy of a girl who got too drunk to remember who the father of her baby is. They never show a girl who has had multiple partners in a short period of time and cannot figure out which boy is the father of the child.
If MTV, or any television giant, wants to produce a quality show that will inform and engage it’s audience, while also sending out a strong message, then maybe they should go back to the “scared straight” method.
Have differing viewpoints on every episode, airing half of the show about a girl or boy who is abstinent and dedicated to staying pure and child-free until they get married. Then contrast that with a girl or boy who are going to be a new parent at the age of sixteen, and show the real struggles of their life, and not just boring and pointless relationship drama.
It all comes down to responsibility. I can’t say that I am a role model to anyone in terms of sexual behavior. I can’t say to anyone that I remained abstinent and pure until I was married. But I did take the proper precautions to avoid being a father before I was ready. Granted, things go wrong sometimes and teenagers become pregnant. I’m not calling these girls bad people, and they are by no means stupid, dumb, irresponsible, or undeserving of compassion. “Sh*t happens,” as the age-old saying goes.
Maybe if more people were truthful with their friends and kids then we wouldn’t have to dedicate books, television shows, and movies to topics such as teenage pregnancy, teenage drug use, or teenage violence.
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