When we think of young mothers
across the nation, we may think of hard work, tolerance, and effort. If some of
us are not in that position, we can only imagine how much work it truly is to
be a mother, especially at a young age.
In 2009, the nation could see what
it was exactly like living like this. The original show was first called “16
and pregnant” then after their pregnancy, the same girls were broadcasted on “Teen
Mom“. Teen mom is a television show about teenage women and their lives as
mothers. The target audience is for young women across the nation. This show’s
intent is to expose these women that if they do not practice safe sex, their
lives can change drastically with friends, parents, and the father’s of their
children. How will these audiences perceive this? Does this really encourage the public to be
safer about their intimacy life? Or does this encourage them to act on it?
Since the show has been airing on
television, the producers are showing the public this type of lifestyle. If it
were not aired, people would continue to live their lives like they are doing.
So, why not take the chance and broadcast this? Perhaps, the producers are
trying an attempt to let women know that this life is much harder than a
regular teenage life. “Producers defended their decision to put a
spotlight on the issue and claimed the show would prevent more young girls from
getting pregnant if they saw what it was really like to be a teenage mother”(Majeski,
2013). In fact, this did drop teen pregnancy rate in 2009 for the first time in
ten years (Majeski, 2013). This shows a positive
meaning in society and hopefully will continue to decrease the number of teen
pregnancies.
Yet, some teen girls will not always
follow the norms of society. Are these young ladies really taking it seriously? Viewers
may assume, “that would never happen to me” or “I can’t see myself doing that”.
But it can. Now what? Many mothers have a hard time deciding what to do with
their child. This show explains how hard life can be if they do keep their
child; juggling with being a mother, a student, a daughter, a significant
other, etc. is a lot for someone that young to manage. What about adoption?
There are some women on the show that choose this option and do think it is
better for their child as well as the couple. However, that can come with
consequences as well. Either way, I believe this show is trying convince the
public that if you make a choice irresponsibly, be prepared for these outcomes.
Some of these teens on the show say that they wish they
could go out and do normal teenage things. A baby is a tremendous blessing.
Yet, the young couples wish they could of waited a little longer. I believe
this show is a huge help for society. It portrays the struggles of being a teen
parent and hopefully encourages viewers to be safer or even wait until they are
truly ready. Personally, when I watched the show, I thought I would never want
to be put in that position because we have our whole lives to be parents. So
why not enjoy it later?
Majeski, A. (2013, March 14). Has 'teen
mom' lost its original message?. Retrieved from
http://www.today.com/entertainment/has-teen-mom-lost-its-original-message-1C8866403
