Teen Pregnancy In Today's Pop Culture

While the United States having the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world, new phenomenon’s controlling debates in today’s society consistently reflects upon teen pregnancy and the average age of teen mothers declining drastically. Controversies in today’s media, political debates, and views on birth control depict both ends of an abstruse teen pregnancy spectrum, as people choose to glamorize such motherhood or castigate it. In society, many people believe success can come easy to young mothers, but it is extremely rare that most teen moms have a tight support system that can lead to a better life for both her and her child. Although teen pregnancy anyone would have to go through, putting strains on family, relationships,
Television shows and clothes stores, have been noticing the uprising in young mothers glamorizing it, and using it to their advantage. Television shows like Secret Life of the American Teenager and movies like Juno, whose audience is targeted to teenage females, changed many peoples perspectives on the hardships of juggling school, work, and raising a child. Although fiction, the simplistic lives of the mothers portrayed on such shows becomes somehow realistic to the viewer, giving them an unrealistic interpretation and false hope of being a young mother, without having to worry about money or education. Child psychologist, Laurie Zelinger believes that this false hope can “increase the likelihood that for some people, they will say, 'I can do it, too.' "
As the shows grow in popularity, it is almost impossible read a magazine not featuring one of the infamous teen moms from the television show. Pictures of them buying new cars and rumors of them conversing with famous celebrities appeal to viewers, therefore many young girls try to find ways to get on it to get these benefits, taking it as far as actually conceiving a child to become famous. One notorious example of this is Megan Nelson, after living with Teen Mom 2 Chelsea Houska and first handedly witnessed how the TV show was giving Chelsea fame, she decided she wanted fame as well. She soon became pregnant and was given the opportunity to get her own television show. The selfish actions of Nelson, and many other teen girls in the United States forget the effects that are extremely damaging to their children. A member of a Young Moms support group in Georgia, Michelle Hankins believes a major reason why these reality shows is creditable to the increase in adolescent pregnancy is "There is no fear and shame in teen pregnancy anymore. Seeing all these teen moms in the media, it makes them less fearful. It's desensitized them, there's just an immunity to the shock value of it." (Chang and