According to most parents today, media is the root of all evil, but is media really all that bad? Yes, social media makes bullying and stalking easier, but does it have an effect on teen pregnancy?   Teen pregnancy has been around forever, and recently, thrown back into the spotlight of shame with TV shows such as Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant appearing again on MTV. Media, including, but not limiting to, television does not have the power to cause teen pregnancy.

MTV shows, such as 16 And  Pregnant and Teen Mom, have had major backlash as people claim that their shows promote  and encourage teenagers to get pregnant. These shows follow young mothers thoughout late pregnancy and early childhood of the babies. The shows are made to highlight how difficult it is to continue education, continue a relationship with friends, boyfriends, and even parents, and how hard it is to continue just being the teenager they want to be. In addition, both Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant show the process and the difficulties of putting a child up for adoption. The purpose of these types of shows is to, in fact, reduce the numbers of teen pregnancy, but are they accomplishing their intended goals?  Research has shown that the answer to that question is yes; these shows have reduced the teen pregnancy rate. 16 and Pregnant has led to an increase in searches and tweets about birth control, which in its self, has led to a five and seven tenths percent reduction in teen births in America, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. All of that only happened in eighteen months following the shows release date (www.nber.org). In addition, teen abortion rates have also dropped following the shows release (www.wellesley.edu). To further this claim, there has been a fifty-five percent decrease in the total amount of teen pregnancy. The result of this drop is that America has seen its lowest rate in the past twenty years (www.guttermacher.org).  While the shows cannot be credited with causing the decrease in teen pregnancy, they also certainly cannot be accused of increasing the rates.

If media does not encourage teen pregnancy, then what does? The leading indicator for teen pregnancy is the lack of education given by schools. In America, only twenty states require sex education courses in their schools, thirty-five states allow parents to opt their children out of sex education class, and shockingly, three states require parents to opt their children into their school’s sex education class (www.stayteen.org) Even more nerve rattling than that, only thirteen states are required to teach medically accurate information(www.stayteen.org).  If seventy percent  of females and sixty two percent of  males have had sexual intercourse by age eighteen, then why are they not getting medically accurate information on how to stay safe and not cause a pregnancy (www.winona.edu)? In the words of Jennifer Coppens , a student pursuing her master’s degree at Winona State University , “Since 1997, the federal government has invested more than  $1.5 billion dollars in abstinence-only programs – proven ineffective programs which censor or exclude important information that could help protect their health.”

In the end, media, such as television, is not strong enough to be the leading influence for the number of teen pregnancies in America. This is proven by America having the lowest rate of teen pregnancy they have had in twenty years. In addition, the cause of teen pregnancy is the lack of education on the topic. Teens are going to these programs, and are only given the basic facts that barely scrape the surface. The rate of teen pregnancy will drop the day schools start to properly educate their students on one of the most important lessons: the creation of life.