UPDATED ~~ 16 and pregnant
UPDATED ~~ I’m back in front of MTV again on this Thursday night and I’m watching this show.again. Folks…let me tell you, it’s only getting worse. This week’s episode features a 16 year old who is pregnant for her boyfriend of one year, with whom she lost her virginity, who is moving in with her and her family after she dropped out of school. Here’s the kicker…she lives with her mom who is also pregnant and they both live with her grandparents in what seems to be a trailor home and so far, everyone seems pretty happy. This just isn’t getting better. Hopefully for her sake it ends better than it has started BUT…I have a feeling that it’s not. This just might be the episode that serves as a deterrent!!!
As you know, I’m an MTV junkie, so in true form I am watching a marathon session of “16 and Pregnant“. I must admit that I usually enjoy all MTV reality shows, but I’m really wondering about this one.
The show chronicles a teenager (16-17) through her pregnancy. They start filming about 5 mounts into the pregnancy and then the show follows the girl through birth until a few months after birth. The stories attempt to show the emotional roller coaster that these teens are on and it highlights some of the struggles that they endure (wondering about the boyfriend and their future; questioning whether they are going to prom; trying to figure out what they’re going to do with their life etc.), but I don’t think it shows enough struggle to really be a teen pregnancy deterrent. It might actually glorify teen pregnancy in a subtle way.
Maybe if they started filming in the third trimester and spent more time after birth, that might serve as a better deterrent. Having a baby doesn’t really hit you until the baby actually arrives – that’s when you realize that 4 hours of sleep is a luxury; that you just can’t get up and go out anymore; that colic is real; that you will not be able to figure out why the baby is crying for the first 2-3 months; that that baby’s life depends on you 100% – so that might be a better strategy for them, that is, if they ARE trying to be socially responsible.
