Running Head: TEEN PREGNACY & THE MEDIA

Teen Pregnancy & the Media

Demi DeShazor

Madonna University

TEEN PREGNANCY & THE MEDIA

Abstract
This paper explores the idea of the connection between the recent rise in numbers of teen
pregnancies and shows or movies dealing with teen pregnancy such a Teen Mom and Juno. This
research looks at all forms of media such a television, movies, and music. The research comes
from surveys and various observations that have been made in recent years. Some research also
comes from different ethnic groups to see if ethnicity plays a role in the influence. Five scholarly
articles will be explored to prove the relationship and answer the question of if the media plays a
role in the number of teen moms in the U.S.

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Teen Pregnancy & the Media

Each year nearly 900,000 teenaged females in the United States become pregnant. Thats
about 2,000 females a day. Out of that 900,000, 340,000 of them are seventeen years old or
younger. Not so long ago, it was instilled in young children not to have sex before marriage. Sex
Ed was taught in the 5th grade and if you had a child under the age of 18 it was looked down
upon. However, in recent years it doesnt seem to be that uncommon anymore. Why is that? Is it
because parents arent having the talk with their children anymore? Or is it because teens are
more curious? Could be a hormonal change in teens today? Or maybe, just maybe its the
popularization of shows such as Teen Mom and movies such a Juno. Teens are so impressionable
that one has to ask, does the media play a part in the number of teen moms in the U.S.? The
answer is yes, the media absolutely plays a role in the rising number of teen moms in America.
The glamorization of teen pregnancy from T.V. to movies, and role models such as Jamie Lynn
Spears having children in their teen years presents the idea that it is ok. Not to mention the lack
of education about things like contraception and STDS. Teens are learning these life lessons
through media. The only thing this does is make teens more curious and oblivious at the same
time. Sure people can say that the media has nothing to do with it because its fake a scripted but
they are sadly mistaken.

Although these shows are very new, the situation with teen pregnancy is anything but. In
fact, the U.S. currently has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world. Its twice
as high as England or Canada. Teen pregnancy has been a concern since the 1950s. It was called

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the baby boom and it has gotten attention from religious leaders, the general public,
policymakers, and social scientists. Teen pregnancy is defined as occurring between thirteen and
nineteen years of age. However, there have been girls as young as ten that are sexually active and
have gotten pregnant. Teen moms peaked in the U.S. in the mid-1950s at about 100 per 1,000
births. (Cherry,2013; Dillion, 2013) It became a big social problem in the early 1970s because
pregnant and parenting teens were less likely to be married. This continues to be true and even
now only a small amount of teen pregnancies result in adoption. (Meyers, 2004) In 2009, about
46% of high school student admitted to being sexually active, and 34% of them said they didnt
use a condom. (Dosomething.org) Just about all teen pregnancies are unplanned, and come with
some major consequences. Only 38% of teens who have a child before eighteen graduate high
school. Not to mention the money struggles, responsible fatherhood issues, and other risky
behaviors that could come with being a teen parent. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
Unplanned Pregnancy has found that daughters of teen mothers are three times more likely to
become teen moms themselves compared to mothers who have a child at age twenty-twenty-one.
(The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnanacy) That means that once it
starts having children young becomes a cycle in a family. Unless someone breaks the cycle it
could keep going on for many generations to come. Teen pregnancy doesnt only affect the
mothers negatively but the affects the fathers as well. Teenage fathers have a higher dropout rate,
legal conflict, and absenteeism. (Meyers, 2004) It becomes a struggle for everyone involved.

Growing up through life there are certain T.V. channels set for different age
demographics. From each channel there are a group of young adults that serve as role models for
the rest of the world. Stars like Jamie Lynn Spears. Spears was a teen start of the hit Nickelodeon

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show Zoey 101. She also is a well-known famous teen mom who was pregnant at sixteen and a
mom a seventeen. Being a mom is the best feeling in the world. Said Jamie Lynn Spears after
giving birth to daughter Maddie. (Anonymous, 2008) Although she lost her show due to the
pregnancy, she was on the cover of so many magazines who glamourized it. What kind of
message does that send to her young fans? Its almost saying that sex is no big deal, even with
teens. The movie Juno (2007) is about a young girl who get pregnant by a close friend and
pursues an adoption. The promotion for this movie was huge and something everybody around
the world was talking about. Yes, it seems like just a harmless movie yet after the movies release
the state of Milwaukee became number seven in the nation in births to teen moms. In 2004, a
research study showed that the average teen birth rate for females between 15 and 17 were 92.6
per 1,000 births for black females, 74 per 1,000 for Latinas, and 26.9 for white females.
(Anonymous, 2008) Coincidence? Maybe not.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a study with
black and white teens that were twelve and fourteen. The teens were surveyed and then checked
on two years later. What they found was that white teens with a heavy diet of sexual content in
the media became sexually active two years later. Black teens were also affected by their media
intake but other factors played a role as well. (Anonymous, 2008) They also found that music
played a huge role in these numbers as well. So many artist include sexual innuendos in their
songs today that teens sing along with and often want to imitate. It really shows how artists
should take into consideration the audience they are trying to reach and the message they are
trying to portray.

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Drama and reality show have seemed to have taken the world by storm. People always
seem to be interested in seeing things that other people deal with in their own lives. Teens get
sucked into the reality T.V. world way more than adults. On June 11th, 2009, MTV released a new
show entitled 16 and Pregnant. The show is about the journey of teen couples as they go
through a 5-7 month period of being pregnant and having the baby. It turned into such a huge hit
that on December 8th 2009, a follow up show premiered called Teen Mom. Although in the
beginning the intentions of the show were very clear, the message seems to have been lost. It
went from being about show the hardships of teen pregnancy and trying to promote prevention to
glamorizing teen pregnancy. Soon, it felt like the two spin-offs had drifted away from the
original purpose to show the trials and tribulations of teenage motherhood and became somewhat
of a 90210 esque soap opera. Said Ashley Majeski, a TODAY contributor. (Majeski, 2013)
These young women quickly turn into celebrities instead of ordinary young women struggling
to raise their children. (Wright, 2013; Randall, 2013; Arroyo, 2013) With their new celebrity
status the moms were no longer struggling. Now they had MTV salaries to take care of the bills,
which almost defeats the whole purpose of the show. (Majaski, 2013) So what message is this
show really sending? All it says is if you get pregnant as a teen theres a chance you could get on
a show and get fame from it. Is that really what we want to portray to teens?

Each year nearly 900,000 teenaged females in the United States become pregnant. Thats
about 2,000 females a day. Out of that 900,000, 340,000 of them are seventeen years old or
younger. About 35% of American females have been pregnant at least once by the age 20.2.
(Escobar, 2005; Tortolero, 2005; Markham, 2005; Low, 2005) Whats even scarier is that in the
United State the risk for acquiring an STI is higher in teens than in adults. About 4 million cases

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are diagnosed in adolescents each year. The media intake from these teens plays a huge part in
these numbers. Teens spend about one third of every day exposed to media. According to
research, teens who watch a lot of television with sexual content are more likely to engage in
sexual intercourse the next year. Programming doesnt even have to show actual sexual
encounters, studies show that just having sexual conversations on television has the same effect.
(Collins, 2004; Elliott, 2004; Berry, 2004; Kanouse, 2004; Kunkel, 2004; Hunter, 2004; Miu,
2004) In fact, its so common in the media that it become a normality to even teens. In a Kaiser
Family Foundation study, 76% of teens said that one reason young people have sex is because
T.V. shows and movies make it seem normal for teens.

Another issue is the fact that teens are learning life lessons from the media and not their
parents. Teens are learning about pregnancy, contraception, and STDs from television. Sexual
messages in primetimes television, daytime talk shows, teen magazines, movies, music, music
videos and so many other sources have taken the role of teaching these things to our teens.
(Pettit, 2003) Sex Ed classes in school are becoming a thing of the past and with the fast pace of
life, parents arent sitting down and talking to their children about sex anymore. Therefore
adolescents are getting their information from the various sources on television and the internet.
Shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager which is about a teen who goes off to
camp and gets pregnant after her first and only sexual encounter. Although the storyline may be a
little extreme, its stories like this that are teaching teens about sex.

TEEN PREGNANCY & THE MEDIA

How does shows like this effect teens? Does it even affect them at all? Anita Chandra, a
behavioral scientist said The relationship between exposure to this kind of content on TV and
the risk of later pregnancy is very strong. (2008) she also goes on to say Even if it were
diminished by other contributing factors, the association still holds. Chandra created a team and
interviewed 1,461 teens ages twelve to seventeen by phone. They spoke to the teens three times
from 2001 to 2004. Previous studies relied on a onetime snapshot of teens behavior. Chandra
believes the continuity of her study reinforces the strength of the relationship between pregnancy
and exposure to sexual content on television. Researchers have revealed two major ways that the
glamorized perception of sex plays a role in teen pregnancy. The first is by encouraging teens to
become sexually active early and the second is by promoting inconsistent use of contraceptives.
Its almost like telling teens its ok to have sex and there will be no consequences.

Of course people will say that the media has nothing to do with it because some of it is
fake and scripted. In fact some researcher have found that since the premiere of 16 and Pregnant
and Teen Mom teen pregnancy number have declined. Researchers say that pregnancy rates
dropped 6% after the premiere of the two shows in 2009. (Carr, 2014) This is wonderful yes but,
it would only be a compelling argument if we were moving as a nation. The United States still
has the highest rate in the world. Its three times the rate in France. Thats only a small piece of a
bigger picture. Some may also say parents should monitor what their children watch. This is also
a true statement yes, but the reality of life today is that we simply cant monitor everything that
teens see. Especially with the premiere of new shows and movies all the time. There is just no
way to monitor everything. What we can do it take the time to talk about these things with young

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children. Let them know about their options and how to handle sexual situations. Just a simple
conversation could make a huge difference.
Conclusion
The glamorization of teen pregnancy has got to stop. We as a society need to realize that
yes, the media absolutely plays a role in the rising number of teen moms in America. In this day
and age we over sexualize everything. From music, to movies, to television. The only thing this
does is make teens more curious and oblivious at the same time. Of course people will say that
the media has nothing to do with it because some of it is fake and scripted or mention the decline
in number since the premiere of Teen Mom. They may also say parents should monitor what
their children watch. However, the decline in rate is so small considering were still have the
highest rate in the world. We also cant monitor everything that happens in Hollywood. What we
need to do is ask ourselves if we glorify teen pregnancy by dedicating a show about it what
message does that really send teens. The intentions may be good, but the results may not show
the same.

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