Secret Life of the American Teen

I found an interesting news article on the LA Times website about a television show that "explores teen pregnancy." The article, 'Secret Life of the American Teenager' explores teen pregnancy, hails the show, now in its second season. (Why am I so late talking about this? It probably has something to do with the fact that I don't have cable and don't watch network TV. I consider this to be the first step in breaking from the brainwashing of modern media.)

The show's first season averaged 3.5 million viewers -- trumping media darling " Gossip Girl." When it returns Monday, viewers can expect Amy's baby drama to intensify as she gets closer to her due date. Is the baby a boy or a girl? Will she give it up for adoption?

Hold me back. Be still my heart. I await the new season with baited breath.

Here's the kicker. The article mentions several statistics which show that teens watching shows about sexual promiscuity and teen pregnancy, has a negative effect on teens. They watch these shows, then turn around and become more sexually active with all of the "blessings" of sexual activity.

A recent study by Rand Corp., which tracked more than 700 12- to 17-year-olds, found that about 25% of those who viewed the most sexual content on TV were involved in a pregnancy, compared with about 12% of those who watched the least.

About one-third of girls in the United States get pregnant before the age of 20, and teen mothers are less likely to complete high school and more likely to live in poverty than other teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And almost one-third of sexually experienced teenage girls have been pregnant at least once, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

So what does this particular TV show teach? "Even the seemingly least likely person is at risk -- even the Amy Juergenses of the world. Viewers under the misconception that pregnancy happens only to the 'slutty' girls are shown otherwise."

Wow. I'm whelmed. The moral of a TV show about a girl who gets pregnant is...what? Sex before marriage is bad? Nah. Teenagers ought to control themselves? Of course not. Don't have sex or you could become pregnant? Never. You can end up with STDs, some of which can kill you? Nope, try again.

The moral, apparently, is that nice girls get pregnant too.

Huh?

The article goes on to "teach" us about teen pregnancy.

"Breaking the stereotype of who is at risk for getting pregnant is crucial to prove no one is protected," said Shelli Wynants, a professor at Cal State Fullerton who teaches Adolescents and the Media. "It can happen to anyone."...

Amy Kramer, senior manager of media programming for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said: "If viewers of these shows watched or read the news at all this year, the pregnancies of Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol [Palin] have taught them that teen pregnancy happens in all types of families and all types of communities, regardless of income levels."...

"It's beneficial for teenagers to see that an unplanned pregnancy can throw off your life plans," said Melissa Henson, director of communication and public education for the Parents Television Council. "[Andrea] was a high-achieving student -- very ambitious -- and her dreams got side-railed by an unplanned pregnancy."

So the problem isn't sexual promiscuity. The problem, according to Hollywood-ized "professionals" is that we need to get out the message that teen pregnancy happens. That it is "beneficial" for teens "to see an unplanned pregnancy can throw off your life plans."

Well, duh. So can HIV, chlamydia, genital warts, herpes, gonorrhea, hepatitis and syphilis. Are these addressed in this cutesy (but popular) TV show?

And what is the solution?

The news story sounds almost disappointed that "abortion is never really an option" in this, and other shows portraying teen pregnancy. Well, we can be thankful that hasn't yet become the mainstream solution for that pesky "unplanned pregnancy."

Shelli Wynants, the professor at Cal State Fullerton, also offers this bit of "wisdom": "There needs to be more mention of the three Cs: commitment, contraception and consequences."

Not having a fancy degree in the sociology of bad decisions, I thought that abstinence was a pretty good option during the teen years. It certainly worked for me. And what's this "commitment" thing with regard to teen sex? Commitment used to apply to that other solid bastion of society - marriage. That also worked well for me.

I've a suggestion. How about we stop letting our teens watch such dreck as Secret Life of the American Teen or Gossip Girl? How about we teach them that they should wait to have sex until they are married? How about we teach them that sex out of wedlock has a lot more consequences than pesky pregnancies? How about we teach teens what good decisions are, and then they'll be able to make wise decisions for themselves?