"An estimated 442,000 teens gave birth in 2006. The number of unmarried teens who gave birth reached a 372,826 or 84.4%, a record high" (Black, 2009).
As most of you know, The media plays a role in the outcome of teenage girls’ decision to have a child. These young girls get caught up in television shows on MTV about being cool and becoming pregnant like the girls on Television. Girls are seeing these paid actresses in the spotlight and wanting the same attention. Well, it is time to help the future women of america by diminshing the glamour for teenage pregnancy. We need to encourage the media to make a change and help teenage girls distinguish pregnancy and allow them to decide when is the right time to consider having children, without the media’s influence.
Most of you have your own children, or at least know people that do have children. We are all aware that having a child is not an easy picnik. Especially for a young girl on her own.With that being said, the fact about these types of shows is that not all data is brought to the table. These shows do not show every aspect of these young girl’s lives. They do not show all the hardships that these new young mothers are going to have to endure. Most of the girls that watch these shows fully believe that the father of their child will be the man she marries and raise a family with. Not all girls realize that the girl on television is a paid actress and will say whatever needs to be said just to get a paycheck. That may include the actuality of the involvement with the father of the baby. Having a child before the age of eighteen can cause a girl to miss out on so many childhood and adolescent memories, and cause such strain and pain on a young relationship between a young mom and a young father.
After becoming pregnant and waiting to start their own family, they wind up dropping out of high school and getting a job that pays bare minimum wage.
According to March of Dimes (2009), three in ten teenage girls become pregnant at least one time before the age of twenty years old. As well as one in four teen mothers under the age of eighteen have a second baby within two years after giving birth to the first baby (2009.)
According to March of Dimes (2009), three in ten teenage girls become pregnant at least one time before the age of twenty years old. As well as one in four teen mothers under the age of eighteen have a second baby within two years after giving birth to the first baby (2009.)
It is a well known fact that sex sells, in media, in books, music, even the on the Internet. Additionally, these young girls are observing sexual curiosities. Teenage girls are then intrigued by the way the media portrays sex. For this reason, sex then contributes to teenage pregnancy rates increasing. Furthermore, the idea of altering the way that these girls are viewing teen pregnancy is the key to diminishing the desire to follow in the footsteps of paid actresses.
Having said that, if shows like “Teen Mom” and “Sixteen and Pregnant” would just as so much touch base on the tough aspects and hardships teenage mothers go through on a daily basis, they would no longer glamorize teen pregnancy. Therefore there may be some opposing views from the director and producers of these television shows. Opposing views such as, they may feel as though changing their show would set the television shows up for failure. I feel strongly that if the big idea could be presented to the media as if to benefit the company and bring ratings up. This idea would not only change the way teens felt about teen pregnancy but as well as increase ratings. Teens would no longer watch these shows to admire and envy the actress; now would watch to see the trials and complications that the actress goes through. Instead of focusing on all the attention that the actresses are getting, let’s make it more about how they feel like an outcast in their school, or that their friends are growing apart from them because they do not live the same lifestyle. The truth needs to be told from real teenage mothers, not paid actresses.
In conclusion, these girls that get wrapped up by the media are only seeing one side of the story. Then they are enticed to follow in the same footsteps then decide to start a family. These young girls do not realize that the decision to have children at a young age will cause them to miss out on important teenage moments in their lives. With this is mind, when a person thinks how much the media has an affect on girls’ lives, and the decisions they make, the way to go about mending this is to help to diminish the encouragement of teen pregnancy in the media. The way to go about doing this is to convince the media that the idea for change will not only better young teen girls, but increase ratings as well. By doing so young girls can make the decision to have a baby and start a family on their own, without any glamorized media to influence them.
Refernces
Black, S. (2009). Children Having Children. American School Board Journal (196)5, 40
Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database.
March of Dimes (2009).Teen Pregnancy
Retrieved June 26, 2011 from http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/medicalresources_teenpregnancy.html
Pesic, M. (2007, June 13). A Look at Teen Parenting. Ezine Articles. Retrieved from
http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Look-at-Teen-Parenting-Statistics&id=605609
