Lend a helping hand

Introduction

            Last but not least is my final paper. This paper which is different from the rest is where I did more research then use my own actual knowledge. I chose a topic where I felt strongly about, chose a side on it and used my research to further prove my point.

            I felt as if this was my best paper, because of the effort and time put into it. It was difficult at times sticking to one side of an argument, but the more research found the easier it was to get my point across. I choose teen pregnancy as my topic because I felt as if it was becoming such a big discussion topic and not many are educated on the needed information.

This is where my journey ends, but is surely not the end of me as a writer.

Shavéone Fagan         

Professor Mundy

English 1000C

November 23, 2011

Teen Pregnancy

            Through the images and how teen pregnancy is being portrayed through mass media, organizations such as "Get Real! About Teen Pregnancy” and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy have taken initiative to contest the negative claims. Is there a specific age to become a mother? Well more and more girls are becoming mothers and they’re still in their teenage years. Teen parents have not only become somewhat of an epidemic, but now it’s something of the norm. Each year, almost 750,000 U.S. women aged 15–19 become pregnant. Education and help is always available to those that need or want to be informed of the consequences of having sex at such a young age, but maybe this education given is not fruitful to the extent of prevention. The media, with claims of trying to help prevent this epidemic is being judged on how they try to inform  young adults on the consequences of their actions .This is becoming more and more popular because of the media and or just ignorance.

            The media is a place where information is given and taken. The way people interpret things maybe different then how the media intended it to be viewed, but the fact is that it’s there for whoever wants to watch, listen or read. If you turn on your television these days, you can find a number of channels with reality shows about a teenager and their pregnancy or even a movie. The network MTV is facing much criticism for this exact reason. MTV airs shows called “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”. Both of these reality shows focus on being young and pregnant. “16 and Pregnant” focuses on the teenager during the pregnancy, while “Teen Mom” focuses on the teenager after the pregnancy and raising the child. “The girls on these shows are shown on camera fighting with their family members, dealing with relationship issues and taking care of their babies.”(Is teen pregnancy too mainstream in the media? Svoboda, Amanda; Huntley; Kenwood). These are a majority of the issues a teen mother has to face, so what’s the problem? People feel the media shouldn’t make a profit off of these teen mothers and their issues. The media trying to educate teens in the best way they can and it is being just seen as a way to make a profit. “I think that teen mom and 16 and pregnant can teach a lot of teenagers that having a kid at the age can be very hard. And it will destroy your education by either dropping out of school or not being able to go to college.”(What Can You Learn from ‘Teen Mom’? by Samantha). Whether making a profit or not, some teens actually see these reality shows as a way of education.

            The media is always being ridiculed on how they present the issue of teen pregnancy to teens. “The show "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and the movie "Juno" make it seem like the hardest part about being a pregnant teenager is admitting it to family and friends.” (Is teen pregnancy too mainstream in the media? Svoboda, Amanda; Huntley; Kenwood). For some teens informing their family and friends of their situation is the hardest part of their pregnancy if they know they will not have the support of their friends and family. Therefore the media showing these teens ways of telling their loved ones about being pregnant should be deemed as good, but instead they’re being ridiculed for it. “…most TV shows and movies about this issue focus on the jokes and entertaining parts of teen pregnancy. They leave out the fact that having a baby a huge financial undertaking. Teenagers typically don't work a full-time job, and being a parent prevents many teens from going to college. The media ought to stop making teen pregnancy seem all about the relationship drama.” (Is teen pregnancy too mainstream in the media? Svoboda, Amanda; Huntley; Kenwood).

            Even with the criticism the teens are saying the opposite. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy have taken numerous polls on teens to find out whether or not the media is persuading them in a way to better protect themselves from these risks and consequences of living in the moment. “…most teens (79% of girls and 67% of boys) agree that when a TV show or character they like deals with teen pregnancy, it makes them think more about their own risk of getting pregnant or causing a pregnancy and how to avoid it.”(Is Media Glamorizing Teen Pregnancy? By Anonymous). This poll in favor of the media shows the media is in fact helping teens to better themselves in making decisions pertaining to consequences of teen pregnancy. “… statistics showing that three in ten girls in the U.S. will get pregnant before the age of 20, each episode will take an intimate look inside the challenges of being a pregnant teenager.”(Is Media Glamorizing Teen Pregnancy? By Anonymous). Each of the episodes of the reality show “16 and Pregnant” gives teens statistics of how common it has become of having a child within their teenage years, which is more helpful factual information in efforts to prevent teen unplanned pregnancies.

            With more than seventy percent of teens being sexually active before the time they get out of high school “The "Get Real! About Teen Pregnancy" campaign, launched last year in California, has taken on these hot-button issues with an arsenal of research aimed at educating policy makers about the strategies that are effective in reducing teen pregnancy. The integrated campaign, developed by Deen+Black (DB), uses a mix of print advertising, media relations and the Internet.”(Campaign Tells Adults to Get Real To Prevent Teen Pregnancy By Anonymous) Campaigns like these ones are using the media for advertisement purposes. This campaign uses the media to promote teen pregnancy month which falls in May and legislation that requires sex education to be accurate and free of race and gender bias. Without the media it would be hard for these campaigns to branch off and be as nationally known as the “Get Real! About Teen Pregnancy” campaign. Providing teen pregnancy statistics, outreach opportunities, and a heavy focus on the Latino and African-American communities, is what the campaign is best known for.

“The campaign's messages also struck a chord with the media, which provided coverage on solutions rather than simply regurgitating statistics.” (Campaign Tells Adults to Get Real To Prevent Teen Pregnancy By Anonymous). The media in the part of advertising and getting a message across plays a strong role in aiding these campaigns.

The National Day to Help Prevent Teen Pregnancy focuses its attention on helping prevent early pregnancies and parenthood through online quizzes. This day’s main focus is to inform teens that sex has consequences. On this day teens are asked to log on to Stayteen.org and complete a number of online quizzes that take a short amount of time to complete. With these quizzes the teens are asked what they would do under certain circumstances. . “30 percent of teen girls become pregnant at least once before age 20 and the vast majority (82 percent) of teen pregnancies are unintended.”(Seventh Annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Takes Place May 7, 2008 By Anonymous). This day could not be possible without the help of the major media companies that support this day. For example, ABC, Nickelodeon, The Candie’s Foundation, MTV, NBC, Fox and numerous others. These networks illustrate teen pregnancy through broadcasting shows, documentaries, and putting up ads.

Teen pregnancy is one hundred percent preventable people just need to be more informed. Some TV shows might face controversy on how they show this topic (teen pregnancy) but they are trying to inform teens in a way they see is best suitable so that teens will know the consequences of their actions. What some might see as not the right way of informing a person on this topic, might really be informing someone. Abstinence is the best way to prevent early pregnancies, but the statistics show a lot of teens are already active before leaving high school so education and contraceptive solutions are the best ways to lessen the amount of teens become pregnant. Everyone needs to come together to make this effort easier and more effective to the public. With the media doing all that they can it is up to us to lend a helping hand instead of criticism to make sure what they are trying to do does not go unnoticed. There’s always someone benefiting from another person’s story.


Teen Mom season 3 episode 5 
This is one of the shows MTV is being criticized for airing. Just watching the show it makes you feel like you're in the position of the teens that are allowing the cameras to document the lives that they live. You understand that it's not easy being a young mother when you yourself has not yet fully grown up and taken on the advantages and opportunities that you could've. 
This video helps support the media's take on teen pregnancy in showing how they put this young mother's stories out their in a way of educating young teens.