Many people find themselves thinking “what did they just say” or “That is so inappropriate” when watching TV. Especially when watching shows on MTV. There’s a controversy about whether shows on MTV such as “16 and Pregnant”, “Teen Mom”, and “Jersey Shore” glamorize or prevent destructive behaviors in teens.
These shows make millionaires out of people who become famous for all the wrong reasons. Being selfish and dysfunctional seems to be the criteria for being on these shows. Watching these people get rewarded for bad behavior sends the viewer the wrong message. MTV promotes teen pregnancy on TV by making it look like a good and fun thing. As reported by Doctor Logan Levkoff, a teen development expert, although MTV portrays the consequences of teen pregnancy, “They are on the cover of magazines, getting paid, getting endorsement deals, and becoming calendar models. Even if MTV shows all the hardships, they’re still being supported in so many ways. The way we bring people into fame for really not doing anything has created a culture where it is exciting to be a pregnant teen and the fact of the matter is that most teens who are pregnant do not have the same experience that the girls on those shows have” (cite 1) MTV sends a positive message and makes teens believe that high risk behaviors as a teen are not only tolerable, but the gateway to fame. Some teens might even think that girls could get pregnant purposely just for the publicity and money. There are also other shows, for instance “Jersey Shore” and “Real World”. On these shows, you see attractive young men and women going to bars, partying till they can’t even walk, picking up strangers and taking them home and sleeping with them and all these behaviors are shown without co...
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Just like everything in life there is good and bad in everything it just depends on how people look at it. This is the same with all reality Television. But as previously seen there are positives and negatives in MTV’s shows. So before parents let their teens watch MTV’s shows they should ponder on if MTV is condoning or preventing high risk behaviors in Teenagers.
Works Cited
#1 “Is 16 and pregnant really a bad influence?” What is the Media really doing. Web. 17 Mar. 2014
#2 Dinh, James. “MTV's '16 And Pregnant' Credited For Decline In Teen Pregnancy Rates.” MTV.com. 22 Dec. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
#3 Matheson, Meghan. “Here’s the Situation…” bestessay26011. Nov. 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
#4 Henson, Melissa. “MTV's 'Teen Mom' glamorizes getting pregnant” CNN.com. 4 May 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
#5 Facebook poll issued on 15 Mar. 2014
The media is one contributor to teen pregnancy. The star of Zoey 101, Jamie Lynn Spears, became pregnant when she was only 16. Parents were shocked to find out that the girl they once thought was a good role model for their young teens was actually not (Teen Pregnancy). Singers like Rihanna, and rappers like Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj sing about extreme sexual acts, and parents allow their teens to listen to the music. Some stars who have been known to dress and dance promiscuously have supported abstinence such as, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and Jordan Sparks (Teen Pregnancy). The Jonas Brothers even took virginity pledges in their teens, but with these celebrities promiscuous ways it often contradicts their support (Teen
It would be hard for one to dispute the fact that MTV has influenced every pop culture trend since its birth in 1981. One could even say that MTV is pop culture. No other media network holds in the palm of its hand the power to control popular cultural evolution the way MTV does. What other media network has influenced and helped shape public opinion, filmmaking, newsgathering techniques, presidential politics, and world politics like MTV has? In addition to that, MTV can take credit for reconstructing the music industry (Rushkoff 126). One would be hard pressed to find a person who does not enjoy some type of music. Thus, "Music" television was built on a foundation that was virtually united by the whole world, and its popularity was inevitable. MTV chose popular music as its beating heart, instead of classical music or jazz. Young people around the country could now see their favorite music icons 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a result, the young people of America were given a national/international platform to share their common voice, a voice that to this day wants to be heard. Since MTV has such a large hand in shaping the young minds of today, it is important that both parents and children are aware of the impact MTV has in their daily lives.
Even if your goal isn’t to be famous, it gives the idea that this much partying and drinking is normal. Normalizing this lifestyle and behavior has horrible effects on children. Along with normalizing overindulgent drinking, the show normalized and promotes sex with multiple random partners. This effects young girls in two ways. First, it lowers their self esteem. In the show, we see the male cast members scoping out young women (degrading along the way) for one night stands just to kick them out once they’ve had their way with them. When young girls see this it manifests that their worth is as simple as that. It shows girls that they are worth one night stands, not real
Studies show that within the last seven years there has been a dramatic drop in the number of teen pregnancies. Teen pregnancy is best known as, the act of getting pregnant between the ages of fifteen and nineteen. Teen pregnancy does not come with much of a history. In the past, (mostly in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s) it was common for girls to be married between the ages of fourteen and sixteen and give birth not long after. Some girls were having babies as young as thirteen and fourteen years old! During the times that young girls would bear children and be married so young, college and education was not an important factor. As a young girl you learned how to take care of your house, farm, laundry, crops, animals, husband, and children. The father was your main source of income. Obviously things in our time are very different. Over the years a growing importance for education and making a living on your own has become crucial to many women. It was no longer important to have children so soon, but to learn to be a strong, educated, and independent woman. Even now as time has gone by, the image of being a pregnant teenage girl has been glorified solely by media. It becomes less important to get an education so you can get a good job and be able to raise a child and give them a good life, and more important to get pregnant and get a chance to be worshiped nationally on t.v. for being pregnant and making all of your money through fame.
...he realization of having sex to young and getting pregnant. Even though these shows reveal some struggle that these young girls have being pregnant and having to raise a child at a young age, I also believe it shows the fascination of it, young girls are impressionable and they only see the families helping these girls, the fun to play dress up and buy nice things for a baby. To a girl that may just want to feel loved or have something to love these shows may give the wrong impression of the way to receive it. I do not believe any show of this nature can help the generation of the girls today. I believe any television show or music that exploits sex, nudity, or body image should be banned or never published to save this generation. Social media needs to have stricter bans with signing up to their sites to try and eliminate under age children to experience it.
Lowrey, A. (2014). MTV’s ‘16 and Pregnant,’ Derided by Some, May Resonate as a Cautionary Tale. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/13/business/media/mtvs-16-and-pregnant-derided-by-some-may-resonate-as-a-cautionary-tale.html (accessed April 13 2014)
A common complaint about today’s teenagers is that they don’t have strong morals. People see televisions shows like MTV’s 16 and Pregnant and assume that this is a common theme among teenagers in the United States. But the truth is just the opposite. According to a recent study by the Guttmacher Institute, Teen pregnancy rates are at a 25-year low, and they’re continuing to fall. (Guttmacher). The Boston Globe observed that “In 2010, about 614,000 pregnancies occurred among teens ages 15 to 19…which is about half the 1.3 million pregnancies that occurred in 1990.” (Kotz) A drop off that large in such a relatively short span of time is remarkable. This essay will analyze this trend of declining teen pregnancy, and try to investigate its potential causes.
The media has changed significantly over the past decades. Technology has modified our abilities to expand our communication network, and it allows companies to spread their commercials over many different continents. Research done by Roberts (1993) shows that adolescent and children are often very influenced by media that involves sexual or violent conduct. This research is based on media involving children and adolescents, however this does not eliminate the effect media has on adults (Singer & Singer, 2001, p. 269).
Holy, Peek., M.D,. M.D.H. “ The Impact Of Reality TV On Our Teens: What Can Parents Do?”. The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds. N.p., 11 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Since 2009, when shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” aired, there have been many debates as to whether these shows condoned or condemn the behavior of teen pregnancy. The shows looked at the lives of teenage girls during their pregnancy and in the following years afterwards. In The Media’s Glamorization of Teen Pregnancy, author, Briana Bosworth, suggest that these MTV shows do not accurately depict how a teen mother’s life would be, and that they create celebrities out of the teens on the show. Bosworth is not alone in her stance as the comparison of the salaries and lifestyles of the teen moms to those who are unrecognized teen mothers yield to the same conclusion that MTV has glamorized the life of a teen mother.
Reality television has changed the world today by encouraging violent behavior, elevate imprudent personalities, and depict woman of their values. Many reality TV shows are driving young kids to be driven by money and fame. Our reality television make us seem ignorant to other countries. Young viewers of these reality TV shows do not realize that most of the shows are often scripted and are not “real”. Although the programming of reality TV can be highly entertaining, it is important to be aware of the messages, and values that these shows often portray. Since reality TV has such a strong foothold in American pop culture, it is likely not going anywhere or changing its content any time
These shows are more about entertainment rather than educational purpose. What parts of it would have influences on teenagers? In fact, people who create Real World, Road Rules, and Tom Green are careless, disregard and irresponsible about the negative consequences. In other words, parts of show have wrongly carved out the youth's world and their perspective. In some way, the shows have passed along the improper role model to the American teenagers. In his article "MTV turns innocent into lesser values," the author states "I have a confession to make: I've been watch...
To say this is bad, I cannot, because I also grew up in this generation watching MTV and VH1. The way in which MTV brings cultural values worldwide is fascinating. With MTV’s brand being worldwide, it has created an identity where we globally share some of the same values. We tend to wear items we see other celebrities wearing, drink what we see celebrities drink, and wear T-shirt with logos on them just to express we are part of this MTV culture. For making such a difference globally, we are thankful to music television. For some inapt reason, this MTV generation believes by being freer and better, we are different from our parents. Although we share a common language that being commercial in nature, there still are the prejudices of society, issues of gender, and issues of race that we still share with our parents.
If you were to turn on your tv currently, you would find shows based around teenagers and young adults. Shows that not only glamorize drama, but in most cases, “hooking up” and even teen pregnancy. For example, Teen Mom is a reality show on MTV filming the lives of young girls having and raising their babies in high school. This show clearly displays the disastrous repercussions of teen romance yet the producers of the show have found a way to glorify it. Teenagers, in response, are brainwashed into thinking this is the norm for society, and that having a baby in high school could be fun. However, throughout the majority of this show, the fathers leave, the girls drop out of school, and the parents are forced to take care of their teen and their baby. It becomes apparent that teens are not mature enough to be in these relationships. They see the stress and the drama it causes, making teens, in some cases, destroy their future. Unfortunately, the slight chance of romance and a happy ever after, wraps teenagers into the illusion that dating is going to be all that. Within the show, there is no denying that there is some sapp...
Sexual activity in the mass media is another negative influence on teenagers. The first example is early sexual intercourse. According to Stockwell, a research shows that teenagers who are exposed to a lot of sexual content on television are more to likely to have sex by 16 years of age than those with limited exposure.