The Causes For The Rise Of Teen Pregnancy And The Media

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Most believe teen pregnancy is caused by lack of education or poor choices made by young adults. Others believe it can be caused by parents that are not strict enough or too strict to their child. However, could one of the causes for teen pregnancy be the media? Could popular television shows such as Teen Mom, Sixteen and Pregnant, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and movies such as Juno be one of the causes for the rise of teen pregnancy in 2015? Since 2014, the number of infants born to teen mothers has been 249,067; six years after the popular teen shows were released. In the book Teen Sexuality Opposing Viewpoints, Dr. Jane Brown talks about the media and the internet’s effect on teens. She says, “Sexually inexperienced people may use the media to fill in the gaps in their understanding of how a particular scenario might work out” (41). Most would agree with Brown, since it is nearly impossible for a young adult to turn on the TV and not be faced with a steamy scene. In this day and time, most young people would rather get sexual information from the internet or TV. Some teens feel it is best to get their …show more content…

Brian Houseman posted an article of the same nature on the Gale Opposing View Points Database; saying how he also believes the media is playing a role in teen pregnancy. In his article, “Popular Media Glamorize Teen Pregnancy,” Houseman speaks of how tabloids and the media make teen pregnancy seem like it is the most glorious thing that could happen to a teen. Houseman says, “Shortly after, Time magazine coined the phrase “The Juno Effect” when scores of teen girls began to talk about how much fun it would be to have a baby of their own. Then we heard that a group of seventeen Massachusetts girls formed a pack to get pregnant together. Some of the girls were even disappointed when they found out they did not become pregnant”

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