The new television shows that have recently aired on MTV and ABC Family like Teen Mom 16 and Pregnant, and The Secret life of the American Teenager show many sides of teen pregnancy. Many people find these shows contradicting and that they are glorifying teen pregnancy. For the most part some of these shows do glorify teen pregnancy but not all of them. The people that find these shows most glorifying are parents because they know what it takes to raise a child, what is shown on the TV shows are not really how it is.
The Secret Life of the American Teenager is the most glorifying of the three shows because of how they portray pregnancy. They make it seem like it is okay to get pregnant at a young age. Also, when you are watching the show, it seems that every week you see someone else getting pregnant or having a pregnancy scare. They are glorifying teen pregnancy by how they portray it’s okay to have a kid, and your parents will babysit. In many cases thats not the case, most teen moms have to find there own daycare for their kids and pay for all of the expenses of having a kid. The Secret Life of the American Teenager shows that kids are having unprotected sex which is most defiantly true, but they should make other shows to support using protection, or shows that portray abortion and adoption even though it is such a controversial subject, it happens every single day in the United States.
Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant also glorify teen pregnancy, many of the girls that are on the show have friends who have also gotten pregnant. The girls on the show are all paid more than most people make in a year, which just rewards their inappropriate behavior. Another reason it is glorifying is that the girls that watch the show may want to get pregnant like them so that they can also be on TV and make money. Also, all of the girls on the shows are making the tabloids because of their inappropriate behavior. Amber Portwood, who physically abused her ex fiance and ended up being arrested. When she was arrested she ended up on a lot of front pages of magazines. Many people bought them so that they could see what she had done now. Like physically abusing her ex-fiancee and possibly being on many illegal drugs. Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant are also glorifying by making these girls seem like they should be role models for other teenage girls. In reality they shouldn't, you should not pursue to get pregnant at a young age because you most likely wont be able to fulfill your dreams.
Another reason that these shows can be glorifying is because some people think that girls on 16 and Pregnant were trying to get pregnant. The most famous teen mom that is thought to have gotten pregnant on purpose was Jenelle. Many people think that she was trying to get pregnant and in some of the magazines it does say that she was trying to get pregnant. Nobody really knows for sure if she really was trying or not, but if she was I don't think her pregnancy should be shown on television show.
The teen moms on Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant are making a lot of money to appear on the shows and be involved with the media. Many of these girls make enough money on the shows to fix all the problems that they are having. Most of the girls though seem to not be using their money wisely because their situations are not very good. Becoming famous because you are a teen mother is not the right way to have society viewing pregnancy. Television should be trying to get other shows to come on TV saying that they need to use protection or show other decisions that mothers have made other than keeping their baby.
Teen pregnancy is probably one of the most controversial topics in todays society. More or less because everywhere teens see it in their high schools, friends, and all over the TV. If people expect teen pregnancy rates to drop there should be more shows on how you can prevent the mistake from happening in the first place, and if the mistake cannot be rewound then show the girls making a different choice other than keeping the baby.
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