In today’s society, young people are very influenced by what they see through the entertainment business and the media. The main reason for this is due to the extreme technology advance in the past couple of years. Most children by the age 5 have cellular devices that are not monitored and are allowed to watch whatever they please on television. There are no barriers to what young children are exposed to nowadays. Due to this, when MTV released their very popular television shows of Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant in 2009, there was much controversy over what message these shows were going to be sending to younger viewers. 16 and Pregnant is a documentary series that chronicles the experiences of pregnant teen moms over approximately a 5–7 month period. 16 and Pregnant debuted in June of 2009. Teen Mom is a spinoff series in which the lives of four teen moms from the prior season of 16 and Pregnant are followed through their first year of motherhood. I can remember being around eleven years old when these TV shows aired and my mom making sure that I never allow my younger sister whom was nine at the time to watch these shows with me. My parents were never super strict about what me and my sister were allowed to do, and this is why I was surprised with my parents when they had told me this. Since these shows have aired, many people have formulated multiple different opinions on weather these shows were and would be preventing or promoting teen pregnancies. MTV’s television shows of 16 and Pregnant, and Teen Mom, have prevented teen pregnancies from occurring rather than promoting them by showing teens the brutal and harsh realities of what life is like when you decide to have a child before you are ready for one along with the fact that statistics prove that the rate of teen pregnancy occurrences has dropped majorly since these shows have been on the air.

According to the writer of the television show 16 and Pregnant, Lauren Dolgen, the entire purpose for the creation of this TV show was to show young adults what the reality of getting pregnant at such a young age is and to be a public service campaign against teen pregnancy. In her CNN article, Lauren states, “To make sure we handled this nuanced issue responsibly, we partnered with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy from the outset” (Dolgen). At the end of each episode, there are always announcements about having safe sex promoting these organizations. This in itself is proof towards the argument that these shows are an attempt to prevent teen pregnancies and in no way encourage them. Lauren goes on to explain the basis of the show by saying, “These documentary series tell the honest, unpleasant truth of teen pregnancy in America -- the whole truth. It's not a fairy tale where every girl ends up with the American dream -- a loving husband, a white picket fence and the career they've always hoped for” (Dolgen). The mothers on this show typically have to drop out of school in order to raise their child. This leaves them with a lack of education and therefore making life in the future harder for them because they will not be able to get a good job. Along with having to give up their education, these mothers lose friends, experiences, and at times, their own families. There is no glamorizing the harsh lives that these mothers live no matter what others say. 

Statistically, in the first nine years that these shows have been aired, teen pregnancy has dropped a whopping 44% (Dockterman). The show was made to show teenagers the terrible reality of what life is like when you decide to become an adult too early. Of course there are other factors that are involved in the reasoning for the decline of teen pregnancies. The economic conditions and the severity of the recession definitely contributed. During periods in which it’s difficult for a teen to get a job, and it’s difficult for the teen’s boyfriend and the teen’s parent to get a job, people are sitting there thinking, “It’s not obvious whether there’s going to be any support for this kid. It may not be a good time to get pregnant.” That happens across the age distribution. That was actually the biggest factor. We calculate that over half the decline is contributable to the economy, 16 and Pregnant accounts for about a third (Goldstein). On the contrary of this, a study done at Indiana University states that these shows glamorize the teens who are pregnant and make viewers strive for the same kind of lifestyle (Indiana University).  They argue that these shows show that these teens have a high income and that the fathers of their children are involved in their life which is not always the case. In my opinion this study is extremely inaccurate. I have seen these shows countless times and the last thing that they do is glamorize these women’s lives. Some have even suggested that by airing these programs MTV inspires some sort of copycat behavior. This idea is just like claiming people are becoming obese for a chance at fame on a reality weight-loss show (Dolgen). This analogy is extremely accurate when it comes to critics who are convinced that they are correct.  Dockterman writes, “The study suggesting a link between the show and a drop in pregnancy rates, conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that the rate of teenage pregnancy declined faster in areas where teenagers were watching more MTV programming. After crunching the numbers, they concluded that the shows prevented more than 20,000 births to teen mothers in 2010 alone” (Dockterman). This study alone can prove the fact that these shows have in fact prevented teen pregnancies. In Annie Lowry’s article for the New York Times, she starts off with a quote by Kailyn Lowry of 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom that states, “I did get two awesome blessings,” said Ms. Lowry, now 21 and married with a second child. “But I still haven’t gotten my bachelor’s degree, because, one, day care is so expensive and, two, how do you balance studying and having little ones at home? (Lowry). These TV shows show the reality of how difficult it is to have a child while being so young. “Two economists showed that social-media postings about contraception and Internet searches on the topic spiked sharply whenever the show was being broadcasted” (Lowry). This is a good thing because teens were getting educated on how to have safe sex if they were having sex, and the down sides to teen pregnancy. There is no other way that a teenager would be able to fully understand the concept of what it is like to have a child at such a young ager other than physically seeing it happen and seeing these mom’s day by day lives and how hard it gets. Annie has high school students state their opinions on what watching these shows have done for them and their views on teen pregnancy. Overall, the show has made teens use more contraception’s, and have less sex all together.

Jacque Wilson begins her article by explaining how the TV shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, encourage young people to practice safe sex rather than starting a family too soon. She writes, “The study, released Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, says "16 and Pregnant" ultimately led to a 5.7% reduction in teen births in the 18 months after its premiere on TV” (Wilson). Her ultimate argument of this article is that these shows prevent teen pregnancy to an extreme degree. Jacque explains further on in her article that the media is what has the most influence on kids these days. Parents for the most part are too nervous to talk to their young children about having sex. Doctors do not talk to young children about sex. Therefore, media is what influences children the most when it comes to this subject. At times, the media can have a bad influence on young people, but in this case, it influences them for the best. These shows are what shows them exactly what they will not want to happen to them due to some dumb mistake. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds the teen birth rate in the U.S. at a record low (Dolgen). Using data from Google Trends, Twitter, Nielsen ratings and Vital Statistics birth data, Professors Kearney and Levine found that teens who watch “16 and Pregnant” immediately go online to search for and tweet about birth control and abortion. Through some very impressive and fascinating dot-connecting, Kearney and Levine found that “16 and Pregnant” led to a 5.7% reduction in teen births — a percentage that accounts for one-third of the total decline in teen births: 20,000 fewer teen births a year (Goldstein). The idea that having unprotected sex can and will led to an unplanned pregnancy, terrifies most teen girls and encourages them to look into ways that they can have sex and be safe about it at the same time.

Another thing that the shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom have accomplished is the decrease in abortions. With teens less likely to get pregnant at a young age, naturally comes with less abortions happening. In a study done at Wellesley College, the author stated, “Although data limitations precluded Kearney and Levine from conducting separate analyses of abortions, the researchers note that teen abortion rates also fell over this period—suggesting that the shows’ impact is likely attributable to a reduction in pregnancy rather than greater use of abortion.” This is just as big deal as the idea that teen pregnancy rates are dropping. Abortion has also been an issue in the past couple of years too. These television shows are in fact killing two birds with one stone. Kearney and Levine show that 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom have a large and highly engaged following, win ratings wars, and lead teens to search for and tweet about the themes within.  They also find that searches and tweets about birth control and abortion spike exactly when the show is on and in locations where it is more popular. According to Professor Levine, “our use of data from Google Trends and Twitter enable us to provide some gauge of what viewers are thinking about when they watch the show. We conclude that exposure to 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom was high and that it had an influence on teens’ thinking regarding birth control and abortion.” The media along with the entertainment business is what has the most impact on young people today. When these TV shows air, the amount of tweets and Facebook posts that are posted discussing the need for birth control or other contraceptives is overwhelming. “Kearney said that while she and Levine did a lot of "fancy economic work" to make sure their conclusion was right, the most compelling evidence came from the teens' social media language. "The text of the tweets are phenomenal: 'This reminds me to take my birth control.' 'Watching 16 & Pregnant, going to take my birth control,' " she remembered reading” (Wilson). In another study, Wilson writes, "They then analyzed geographic data to see whether locations with higher search activity and tweets about "16 and Pregnant" showed higher levels of searches and tweets about birth control and abortion, they did” (Wilson). This idea on its own that teens are propelling their ideas onto social media is what is turning these television shows into such a phenomenon. 

Understanding the influence shows such as 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom have on their viewers is extremely important. Fast forward to ten years from now, think about your future children, what kind of influences would you want them exposed to? Most parents turn their heads at these two shows simply due to the fact that they are even about teenagers having babies and are against their children being exposed to such activity. The reality is, most children begin to engage in sexual activity around the age of 13. This will go on with or without parental approval. The best thing for young children is to expose them to the harsh reality. There is no other way for them to accurately understand what life would actually be like without seeing it first handedly through these reality shows. They might have the idea that it would be “cool” or “fun” to have a child, until they see that would lose their best friend, have to quit the soccer team, and not be able to attend the senior prom. Its these every day activities that you will not be able to participate in that children have to see, they have to see for themselves in order to understand and that is exactly what these shows do. It is also important to understand the reasoning behind the whopping decline in teen pregnancy over the years. 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom have in fact been a great contribution to society. These TV shows are exactly what teens needed to stop them from having babies and ruining their lives. These TV shows will result in a smarter, more successful generation of adults. Less pregnancies lead to less abortions as well which is also better for our world. Overall, television shows such as 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom have one more good than they have harm. These shows in no way promote teenagers to get pregnant and have babies. The shows main focus is to make viewers laugh by showing the disastrous things that come along with having a child when you are a child. For everyone that is on this show, they are no longer allowed to go to social events such as parties and prom and sporting events with all of their friends. They are obligated to stay home and take care of their child. Their relationships with their friends and family also deteriorate because they are constantly fighting over the child and all that is necessary to raise one. Along with that, most of the time their relationship the baby daddy or their significant others deteriorate as well because of all of the arguing. Overall, these shows do a very good job at portraying all of the negatives that come along with a pregnancy at a young age, therefore preventing teen pregnancy extremely well.
