Our parents tell us be safe. Our educators tell us not to do it. How do we be safe? What is ‘it’? With the best intentions but nothing actually being said, you’re given the paddles to row and no boat to steer. 

That is, until shows like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant. Showing the hardships and consequences of parenthood and pregnancy up close and personally on MTV, you finally got a chance to understand what’s happening to people your age. At last, some of these sayings and warnings are making a little bit of sense. 

Though parents may have labeled it ‘trashy’ and a ‘bad influence’ on today’s youth, teens have proved them wrong, even catching the eye of The New York Times—one of the most popular newspapers in the US! Just a few weeks ago, they published an article on a study showing that these shows about teen pregnancy have worked, and teen pregnancy rates have gone down.  This study showed that you all are smarter than you think, and can make good choices.

The article talked about teens making better choices, and also improving their futures. Lower rates of teen pregnancy means you and your friends can go to prom, graduate high school, and even go to college. Since you are being safer, you get to enjoy more fun things for longer, and though your parents may not like the show, the numbers don’t lie and the numbers show a 6% decline in the teen birthrate. That 6% may not look like a big number, but that number represents about 20,000 babies in 2010 alone.

Do you watch 16 and Pregnant? You should be. Here at Stay Teen, we have discussion and episode guides to help you break down what happened in every episode, where you can comment and discuss your views.  

What We’re Watching is a new feature where we break down what we’re watching each week. We’ve scoured television listings, YouTube, Twitter, and reached into the depths of the Internet to bring you awesome stuff to watch and learn from. Watching something we’re not? Let us know and we’ll take a look!

Syd is a junior at American University studying Public Communications and Psychology. She is from a little bit of everywhere but is enjoying her adoptive city of D.C. She spends time cruising the Internet for cat videos, sex talks, and graphic design guides. Have questions for Syd? Send her an email!Send us an email!