ABCFamily has a series titled Secret Life of the American Teenager. The show began with fifteen-year-old Amy finding out she was pregnant by the school player, Ricky, after her first time having sex. Ricky initally denies being the father but eventually assumes responsibility. Throughout her pregnancy her friends abandon her to a certain extent and she forms relationships with other people, mainly Grace, a Christian, and Adrienne, Ricky's on-again-off-again girlfriend. Grace attemts to support Amy by urging her to have the baby. Amy also meets Ben, who is romantically interested in her and wants to help her with her baby. Ben also wants to marry Amy but everyone goes against it, saying he is not the father of her child so she shouldn't do that to him. Later Amy has the baby and Ricky says he'll be there for his son, John. To get up to date, I'm skipping some of the information. Currently, Grace lost her virginity to her boyfriend and her dad died in a plane crash. Ben and Adrienne had sex to get back at Ricky and Amy and are now expecting a daughter. Now, Ben wants to marry Adrienne. He says he doesn't want his daughter to know her parents weren't married. Amy and Ricky are currently dating and being a family, despite any lingering feelings that may exist for Ben and Adrienne respectively.
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In the three seasons this show has been going, there have been different sexual encounters that have all had serious consequences. Amy became pregnant after her first sexual encounter; Grace's father died after she broke how vow of virginity until marriage; Adrienne, someone who was sexually experienced, became pregnant after having sex out of revenge. While Grace's situation was out of her control, Amy and Adrienne have had serious consequences of sex without a relationship. They become outcasts in the school and among their friends. Is the show sending bad messages about premarital sex to younger viewers of the show?
Marriage is also a big issue in the show. When Ben wanted to marry Amy, no one agreed because he wasn't the father. Now that Adrienne is pregnant, Ben wants to marry her, despite his dad protesting he should wait to get to know her. Ricky was showing interest in other girls, but suddenly decided he should be with the mother of his son. ABCFamily even has a poll where thrity-three percent of responders said they should get married because "they are having a baby!". Should getting married for the sake of a child be pushed over getting to know the person your marrying?
The show advertises the website stayteen.org as a resource to prevent teen pregnancy. However, there is no guarantee that viewers will visit the site. And even if they do, there is no way to know how much they will read and how much they will retain. Currently the show only discusses condoms and birth control pills as forms of birth control. However the show has two cases of where neither method worked. Should this show and others like it discuss more ways to protect against pregnancy and STIs or leave it to the viewers to learn on their own or from other sources?
Sloane H.
1. Having not seen any of the shows, I believe your description of the show makes it sound a little over the top, but it at least shows some consequences for sexual behavior. Although the plot seems intense, it gives both positive and negative effects of pregnancy. For example, the baby daddy eventually comes through, but it was a hard struggle.
ReplyDelete2. Coming from a home where my parents were split but still fought over me all the time, I would say it is DEFINITELY not okay to marry someone because of a child. I couldn’t stand my parents fighting as it was and they lived separately, let alone if they would have stayed in the same house for my sake.
3. Shows that are made for entertainment have no responsibility to educate their viewers. I believe it is solely up to the viewer to research the topic if they want more information
-Cheyane Frizzell
1. I don't think that the show is sending bad messages about premarital sex. I feel that the show is actually good for teen viewers in a way. It shows the negative outcomes that can occur from teen pregnancy
ReplyDelete2. I think it is absolutely ludicrous to get married just for the sake of a child. People have sex for pleasure all the time. Numerous people will have sex with someone that they are attracted to, this doesn't mean that they actually love the person just because they had sex with them. I believe you should only marry someone if you genuinely love and care for them.
3. I think it would be convenient for the show to discuss ways to protect yourself from pregnancy and STI's because there are parents and schools who will refuse to teach this to children. Children need to be educated about these things somehow.
-Chris M.
1. I believe that this show sends a message to teenagers that the events occurring in the episodes are considered ‘normal’. Although some of the situations in this show are very real most of the situations are blown out of proportion to scare teens out of having premarital sex. In my opinion the show sends an unrealistic message using very uncommon extremes to get their message across.
ReplyDelete2. In my opinion, I think if a couple got married solely based on the fact that they are having a child together would, in the end, result in a hostile home for the entire family. Marriage is something that is based on love and knowing that you want to spend your life with that person. So, marrying because of a pregnancy, defeats that purpose and might not always end like you had imagined.
3. STI’s and STD’s tend to be ‘forgotten’ when it comes to shows like these. Yes pregnancy is consequence of having sex, but STDs are also a huge consequence of sex that just aren’t mentioned. The fact that 1 in 5 Americans currently have an STD makes me wonder why they aren’t mentioned more in shows like this one. It is hard to learn about something if you don’t know to even look for it. So, in conclusion, yes I believe STDs/STIs should be more talked about in shows.
-Lauren Bellm
1. I think since the show is portraying the possible consequences of premarital sex that is a positive attribute. It's good that they show aspects such as peer pressure, lack of sex education, as well as the use of protection. But I have so many other problems with this show in general.
ReplyDelete2. You should not marry someone just because you are having a child together. Marriage is no guarantee that you will be together forever and it is no guarantee that it will benefit your child's life. Marriage has to be built on love, trust, and respect and if you just had random sex or revenge sex with someone that results in pregnancy marriage is not the answer.
3. Well STD's haven't been discussed on the show at all as far as I can remember. It would be beneficial for them to incorporate that... I'm sure it would make another dramatic story line. This is entertainment, however, so they don't have any responsibility to educate. All they are doing is trying to come up with the best plot they can, which often involves the scenarios in which things went wrong. At least they have the snippet at the end of the show to educate, there's something at least.
Alyssa K.
1)Like Cheyane said I have never seen this show ,but I think form what I've just read it isn't. In the society we live in today sex is every where. I wouldn't blame this particular show for teens actions ,but the lack of knowledge some teens have when it comes to sex. As far as premarital sex I feel like that's gone happen regardless of the show
ReplyDelete2)NO! A lot goes into marriage although a child is important the factors that come along with marriage are as important. Also the marriage could affect the child just as much as the parents.
3) I think they should discuss it more ,but at the same time the parents should know what their child is watching and also inform them about the consequence of sex. A lot of TV shows are raising kids these days and not the parents and it shouldn't be like that.
Dorsey