MTV’s Influence on Teens

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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

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