Armstrong 1 Lisa Marie Armstrong Professor Beth Caruso English 1102 26 July 2012 Pop Culture: Media and

its Effect on Teen Pregnancy Its no secret that pregnancy has entered houses all over the United States not just any pregnancy but teen pregnancy. Teen pregnancy rates have sky rocketed since the 1990s, almost becoming an epidemic. Who is responsible though, teens, their parents or something even larger, the media. Pregnancy has not only entered our households in tangible form however media and the overall glorification of adolescent pregnancy has an adverse effect on our nation. Television has averted itself from the innocent lesson teaching programs to programs directed to a more advanced audience, shows range from teen pregnancy scares, abusive relationships, drug issues, and cheating and lying friends and significant others. According to Rick Nauret, Adolescents who have high levels of exposure to television programs that contain sexual content are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy over the following three years as their peers who watch few such shows. (Nauret, 1) This begs that question does teen pregnancy and sexually directed television have a direct correlation. The article by Nauret goes on to note a study, Adolescents receive a considerable amount of information about sex through television and that programming typically does not highlight the risks and responsibilities of sex, said Anita Chandra, the studys lead author and a behavioral scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. (Nauret, 1) Not only is sex relevant to teen pregnancy but its not teaching the proper information that young woman and men need to know if put into the sad situation. Television does not only do a bad job of teaching the risks but it also portrays an act that has

Armstrong 2 little or no consequence like Nauret says, Researchers from RAND Health say that exposure to sex on television may influence teen pregnancy by creating the perception that there is little risk to engaging in sex without using contraceptives and accelerating the initiation of sexual intercourse. (Nauret,1) Its been established that television is a medium for influencing pregnancy in adolescents today. However if television is such a factor how have the networks changed, and what do the shows convey to teens today? The ever famous television show 16 & Pregnant airs on MTV showing the lives of teens who got pregnant at sixteen. This show was meant to be a realistic portrayal of how being a teen parent basic destroys your childhood and puts a large amount of responsibility and restraint on relationships. Instead of focusing on the child the shows focus on the parents and their drama so as to make good TV. According to a free-lance writer Ellen Borza, "16 & Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" glorify and support teen pregnancy. Rather than seeing a glimpse of these young mothers' lives for a brief hour or two, they became permanent fixtures in the celebrity world. They attempt to make their "15 minutes" last, and audiences week after week support them. (Borza, 2) Not only has the show aired on MTV but these womens faces are always plastered all over magazines, theyve become celebrities. Showing that being teen parent can mean fame and attention is giving these young women the idea that theres nothing wrong with being a teen mother, its a good thing. A spin off from the series is the show Teen Mom, which shows the lives of the parents of 16 & Pregnant, after the first year. This show even more than its supporting series portrays the drama aspect of these mothers lives. The show fails to focus on the children and how the parents lives have changed and instead shows mothers such as Jenelle Evans out partying, engaging in illegal activities and even getting sent to jail. Borza goes on to

Armstrong 3 say, Other than run-ins with the law, it seems to me that Evans has never gotten into trouble or received punishment for her actions. She continues to do whatever she wants and does not seem to own up to being a mother.