Teen Mom And Pregnancy Essay

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Do Shows like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant Promote Pregnancy?

In case some of you didn’t know, 16 and Pregnant is a TV show that shows real teenagers dealing with teen pregnancy and a brief showing of their life after they give birth. Teen Mom is a follow up of certain women that were showed on 16 and Pregnant and their lives a couple of years later. Both of these shows were created to help young women learn more about the harsh reality that can occur after getting pregnant at a young age. As someone who has watched almost every full episode of both TV shows, I can say that I believe these shows promote teen pregnancy.
16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom have made young parenting look easier than it really is. Being a parent has an endless list of responsibilities that most young moms or …show more content…

A study was done in 2011, almost a year and a half after the first season of 16 and Pregnant first aired, and it turns out that there was a 5.7% reduction in the number of births of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 (Wilson). While this drop in birth rates among teens is a positive impact, it did not last as long as hoped. A few years after Teen Mom aired in 2009, birth rates started to slightly increase. I believe this is because of how the girls’ lives are portrayed on the shows to seem so easy while having to take care of their child.
Altogether, I think that Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant are not giving us the realistic views of young pregnancy and life after. These shows are not showing a good example for young girls out there. With all of the teen pregnancy our world has now, it is important that teens are taught the dangers and consequences of what could happen if they get pregnant. Instead of glamorizing teen pregnancy, the shows should have made these girls’ lives and situations more realistic so that young viewers would have a better understanding of what could actually happen

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