No Longer Living the Teenage Dream

"Secret Life of the American Teenager"

In recent years it seems as though there has been a surge in teen pregnancy on television and in film.  Each week, people throughout the country tune in to watch “Teen Mom,” “Teen Mom 2,” “Secret Life of the American Teenager,” and “16 & Pregnant.”  Recent cinematography has glorified teen pregnancy in “The Pregnancy Pact,” based off of a true story of high school girls from Gloucester High School, “Juno,” and even “Knocked Up” with an unwed pregnancy.    

All of these situations made me stop and think.  What is going on?  Why is Hollywood glamorizing teen pregnancy?  And can someone please tell me why the actors on ABC Family seem to compete with each other to see who can say “sex,” “condom,” or “the Pill” the most?  Huh??  Why are so many teens getting pregnant and why is America so in love with these shows?    

In “Teen Mom,” each episode documents the girls’ first year of motherhood, showing their struggles with relationships, family, friends, education and trying to raise a family.  One would think that this would discourage girls from having sex from the fear of getting pregnant themselves.  But it actually seems to have the opposite effect.  MTV is turning these poor teen moms into American reality TV stars, and they are often found in celebrity gossip magazines.

Girls of "Teen Mom"

It would console me to hear that with all of these shows, the rate of teen pregnancy is declining.  Unfortunately, after some research, I learned that teen pregnancy is still a huge issue in the United States.  Each year in the US, “almost 750,000 women aged 15-19 become pregnant,” [1].  Even more disheartening, for the first time since the 90s, “the overall US teen pregnancy rate increased in 2006, rising 3%,” [1].  And finally, get this, “ten percent of all US births are to girls aged 19 or younger” [1].  How sickening.     

After each “Teen Mom” episode, a PSA airs announcing that teen pregnancy is 100% preventable and to learn more, simply visit itsyoursexlife.org.  The website gives educates teens about teen pregnancy as well as gives tips on how to prevent pregnancy and how to practice safe sex.  Nearly “3 out of 10 girls in the US get pregnant as teens, most don’t expect it,” [2].  Reading the tips on the site gives advice on how to take charge to one’s sex life. 

Hopefully teens will read up and educate themselves before they become yet another statistic.    

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-ATSRH.html [1]

http://www.itsyoursexlife.com/iysl [2]