Today, Maci, Kailyn, and Leah from MTV's Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2 paid a visit to the Dr. Oz Show. They were there to talk about their stories, and also to defend themselves against those speaking out against the shows. The creator of TM and TM2, Lauren Dolgen, was even on hand to back the girls up. A few things irked me about the show, so I wanted to point them out. After all, we all know how much I like to share my opinions.
Some uptight woman named Melissa was there to voice her opinions on the terrible things the show is doing to teenage girls, as well as a teen mother named Kathleen. Both of them said the show glamorizes teen pregnancy. In fact, Kathleen, who claims to love these girls and watch the show religiously, said the show made her think that if these girls could do it, so could she. Yes, because that makes sense. What a logical train of thought.
If this Kathleen character actually watched the show, she would realize that their lives aren't glamorized at all. Week after week, you see these girls struggle with being single parents and finding ways to balance school, work, and taking care of their kids. I've been married almost a year, I'm almost 24, and this show actually makes me want to wait even longer to have kids because I realize I'm not ready for it. So, you're telling me that teenage girls are watching this show and thinking they are ready to have a baby because of it? I don't buy that. At all. If that's what they're thinking, they have some other sort of issues that are most certainly not a direct result of MTV. (Does watching Jersey Shore make them want to go on a drinking binge or go to the gym, tan, or do their laundry?)
If anything, the part of the show that is "glamorized" is the fact that these girls have become celebrities. But, that's what you get with MTV reality shows. The same thing happened with Laguna Beach, The Hills, Jersey Shore, The Real World, and so on. When characters are relatable and have a lot of drama going on in their lives, people are entertained. That doesn't mean every person watching Teen Mom is going to turn to their significant other and say they want a baby. Only the crazy ones are going to do that!
Maci repeated many times that she hopes the show gets conversations going between teens and their parents. She spoke up much more than the other two, and I was glad. She especially had no idea what the show was going to become, having been on the first seasons of 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. When she signed on, you know her intentions had to have been genuine, because no one had even seen the show at that time. Even so, I don't think Kailyn or Leah signed on because of the fame - they all seem to have good intentions and truly want to show other people that their lives are tough and not glamorous at all.
There will always be crazy people that do anything to get themselves on television - you can't avoid that. But, is picking on a show that plays an advertisement about preventing teen pregnancy during every episode, takes the cameras right into the delivery room to show what really happens, or follows these girls through the drama they experience in their every day lives really worth your time? No. I'll answer the question for you. Teen Mom is meant to educate and entertain - I can guarantee you the creators of the show never had the intentions of urging young girls to have unprotected sex and get pregnant. Maybe these people should actually watch the show and find out what really goes on. There is nothing glamorous about the life of a teen Mom.
No comments:
Post a Comment