Finally, theres a newer show on ABC family called The Secret Life of the American Teenager. This particular show is actually not a reality show. This series is about a young girl around 15 who finds out she is pregnant and decides to have the baby and keeps it. Now, ABC family mentions at the wnd of this show that the viewers can go to abcfamily.com to find out more about pregnancy prevention. This is a very small positive aspect of this show. However, I still feel that this show and other similar series teach teenagers that it's alright and so common today to have babies at a young age. I know these are probably not the intentions of the ABC family producers, but with all movies and tv shows surrounding sex today, one of these family shows can easily be turned into something beyond PG-13 or TV 14. Now just to be sure abc family was being truthful about the pregnancy prevention tips online, I decided to visit the website myself. I didnt find a link about teen pregnancy prevention, but under the Secret Life page, I saw a link for advice. When I clicked on the advice link I saw a few disturbing questions from viewers of the show. One girl had said she was going into her senior year of highschool and loved her boyfriend very much. But then she continues on to ask the advice counselor if it would be a good idea for her to get pregnant in september so that she could graduate and then have her baby in June. What the hell kind of question is that for a teenager to be asking, let alone thinking? Does this show really give teens the idea that it's possible to have a normal highschool experience while being pregnant? Fortunately, the advice counselor told the young lady that she has so many opportunities to try and fulfill before she should start thinking about settling down and having a family. The next question I saw was even more ludacris than the last. A 12 year old girl had submitted a question asking for advice on a dream that she had. The girl said that she had a dream where she was pregnant and enjoyed it. This left her confused and wanting to be pregnant. So she asked the advice counselor what she should do. Again, fortunately the counselor told her that being 12 is a great time for many wonderful things to happen, but being pregnant and a parent at age 12 is not one of them. She continues on by telling the girl that being a parent comes with many many responsibilities. It is sad for me to read these advice questions because I see how many kids think its okay to be a young parent and how many kids think it will be easy and fun.
With shows like the previous 3 I discussed, we can easily see how teenage sex and pregnancy is so common in the media. Unfortunately these shows are not always means of teaching kids/teens that teen prgnancy should be prevented. Often times these shows display the contrary that give young people the idea that having sex (even unprotected sex) is perfectly alright and actually accepted in today society. To me, its a sad thing that our world and media would allow these types of shows to be aired so that teens can see that what is meant to be a wonderful thing between 2 committed adults is actually just a casual common now amongst teens...
PS: that last line is suppose to say: To me, its a sad thing that our world and media would allow these types of shows to be aired so that teens can see that what is meant to be a wonderful thing between 2 committed adults is actually now just a casual, common act amongst teens.
ReplyDelete**haha sorry if it was confusing before!
Lauren points out that in the media today, there are various t.v. shows that present teens who are pregnant, giving young girls the idea that this is more normative and more socially acceptable then what it really is. The show NYC Prep displays high school in relationships that are more physical than emotional. I agree with Lauren when she talk about MTV's Sixteen and Pregnant; it is more of an entertainment purpose to watch young girls struggle with being pregnant while you are not. The Secret Life of the American Teenager is more realistic but still presents a 15 year old pregnant girl, but it shows a lot her struggle with school and her family and her father situation. ABC Family has a Q and A section under this shows section on the website so other girls can ask their own questions. Lauren's main point is to reinforce how the media affects teenagers and what they think is acceptable in terms of their relationships.
ReplyDeleteLauren's objective is showing that through out time our television shows that appeal to the younger population is taking a turn for the worst. She reflects on three TV shows that have become very popular that are promoting sex for young teens. TV shows such as "NYC Prep", "Secret life of an American Teenager", and "Six and Pregnant" all deal with young boys and girls dealing with having a baby at their age. These kind of shows are allowing young viewers to see that if these teens can have children at their age then it is becoming socially acceptable to have a baby. What teens don't realize it that they are still children themselves and shouldn't be responsible for the life of a baby. The main agruement here is why we are allowing our children to watch these shows and giving them the idea that having a child themselves is a positive thing.
ReplyDeleteLauren points out that television is very different today than it used to be even just a few years ago. Certain things were always kept away from family television programs or programs where the main audience would be for teenagers to adolescents. These shows used to never have any talk about sex or showing a teenager pregnant and now they have shows about being pregnant at the age of 16. I agree with Lauren when she says "Unfortunately these shows are not always means of teaching kids/teens that teen pregnancy should be prevented. Often times these shows display the contrary that give young people the idea that having sex (even unprotected sex) is perfectly alright and actually accepted in today society." It is true that these shows are not helping prevent kids from sexual acts. In fact, the age at which sexual acts are occurring is getting younger and younger. There are numerous stories I have heard about kids in elementary school being caught doing things. I'm nit saying they understand what they are doing but it is happening and it makes it worse when the people doing these things do not know exactly what it is. The reason it is dangerous is because many things can go wrong and they could be ruined for the rest of their lives.
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