The Influence of the Media on Teen Pregnancy, Good or Bad?

There has been much debate recently surrounding the effect of MTV’s shows “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom,” in which multiple teens each season are shown as they experience pregnancy and parenthood as teenagers. The young girls featured on the sure are being viewed as "stars" and frequent tabloid covers. Many argue that these shows glamorize teen pregnancy and encourage this behavior. However, studies conducted by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy show that this is actually not the case. In fact, according to this study, “16 and Pregnant” actually promotes awareness about the struggles and risk of teen pregnancy, and may even encourage young people to talk about the subject with their parents.  (http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/resources/pdf/SS/SS45_16andPregnant.pdf)

However, this is not the only example of young, unexpected pregnancy stories displayed by the media. Movies like Juno and Knocked Up depict young people experiencing unplanned pregnancies. The 2007 ABC series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” is entirely based upon the unplanned pregnancy of a high school girl. Bristol Palin’s pregnancy and motherhood have been targets of media exposure since the day the information was released. Does the growing coverage and popularity of this content in the media perpetuate this behavior?

National data showed a 3% increase in teen pregnancy rates from 2005-2006 (although this is not the highest it has ever been). Many high schools around the country now provide free day-care centers for their students. In the 2008 pregnancy scandal at a Massachusetts high school, a whopping 17 students became pregnant, seven of which admitted to making a pact to get purposely get pregnant together. Lifetime network made a TV film out of the event. These facts make it hard to argue that there is no effect from these situations being presented by the media.

However, the argument remains whether this is a positive or negative effect. Although pregnancy rates among young adults seem to be increasing, national statistics show that the proportion of teenage pregnancies resulting in abortion are decreasing.(http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pdf).

The profuse prevalence of young mothers being portrayed in the media seems to undoubtedly be altering societal norms. Awareness of the subject is obviously increasing, and although some may say this promotes the behavior, others argue that it informs young people about how to responsibly deal with it.

The fact is, unplanned pregnancies and teen pregnancies have been occurring forever. The attitudes of society on this subject are really what are being influenced. The more this topic is given coverage by the mass media, the more people accept this as the norm. Furthermore, as the cultivation theory states, when experience confirms what is shown, we “project” the effects. As this is shown as ordinary, people come to accept it as such. In the last few years, teen pregnancy has shifted from taboo to commonplace; it is no longer treated as a scandal. Is this simply because of its pervasiveness in the media? And the social learning theory of observational learning would argue that the abundance of teen pregnancy stories in the media would affect the actions of young adults in respect to pregnancy.

Are people simply imitating what they see and acting in accordance with new social norms, causing pregnancy rates among young people to rise, or does the discussion and exposure of the subject actually promote more positive, healthy ways to deal with an issue that has been around for years?

Consider this: When my mother was 18 she had an unplanned pregnancy that she was forced to hide from everyone. She was sent off to live with an older family member out of town, was not allowed to attend her own high school graduation, and was given no choice by her family but to give her child up for adoption. If she was put in the same situation today, her options may have been different. So does the media exposure of this matter hurt, or help?