editorials

= Editorials  =

=== Reality television shows glorify and encourage negative behaviors. Besides family, TV has the greatest social impact on teenagers. Think about that. ===

=== Teens’ use of media has increased over the past decade, and so has the amount of sexual content in the media. Coincidence? Reality television shows such as MTV’s Jersey Shore or 16 and Pregnant, make people that made mistakes in their lives, or are currently making mistakes, look like they are doing something good because they are on TV. Recent studies show that some teenage girls actually try to get pregnant just so they can be on the show. Would you want your daughter trying to get pregnant at 16, just so she can think she is cool because she might be on television? ===

=== Today’s young people spend about 15,000 hours watching TV per year, and only 11,000 hours in school. As mentioned above, television has a greater impact on teens than school does, so kids are spending about 4,000 more hours watching mostly negative stuff that’s going to impact them more than what they are learning in school. That is a horrible thought. Would you rather have your child watching reality TV that is negatively impacting them, or sitting in school actually learning stuff that could, and will, help them later on in life? ===

=== Profanity, sexual references, rudeness, and shocking behaviors are just some of the negative behaviors shown on reality television. Some of the TV shows encourage underage drinking which is illegal. If teens see that the people who are drinking underage on television aren’t having any consequences, then they don’t think they might think that they won’t have any consequences. They just think that if people on television can do it, so can they. Then, if they get caught, they have to learn the hard way. ===

=== It is obvious that reality television shows, in some way or another, encourage and glorify negative behaviors. It’s time to teach teens the actual consequences for these behaviors, not just what they see on TV. ===

= **Use Parental Controls!** =

**By: Courtney Lampman**

Because teen pregnancy and underage drinking rates have risen in the past 5 years more than ever before, parents need to know what they can do to get across to their teens about the effect this can have on their lives.

Programs like MTV's //Teen Mom// and //16 and Pregnant// show teenagers how their lives can change while being a pregnant teen. These shows reveal difficulties of being pregnant, but also demonstrate that it is okay to be a teen and pregnant. Some teens don't have sufficient enough funds to take care of a child or pay hospital bills, nor do their parents. This costs the U.S 17 billion dollars annually. 34% of teens become pregnant at least once by the age of 20. 8 out of 10 of these teen's pregnancy was unintended, 79% are unmarried teens. Teens with a baby are less likely to graduate from high school. Only 1.5% will graduate from college by the age of 30. Often, teens have complicated health problems while being pregnant which can lead to their own baby having health issues as well.

Other negative shows being watched by 8.9 million viewers per show is MTV's //Jersey Shore// and //True Life//. These reality programs show people, sometimes underage, drinking. Reactions to this by teens are that it's "cool" and "normal" to drink underage because "everyone's" doing it. The reality is, even though they may not get caught it can cause serious health problems. The 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys found that among high school students, during the past 30 day 42% had drank some amount of alcohol. Underage drinking can lead to memory disorders and overall brain damage- especially for teens under the age of 21. Teens watching underage drinking shows are affected by them. It's a proven fact.

Parents should know what their teens are watching. By simply sitting down with your teen and letting them know what is and isn't okay for them to watch, you can make a difference in your teen's life. If your teen can't be trusted, there are always "parental controls" on your T.V. that are easy to install and most of the time free. Let your teen(s) know that it is serious and dangerous to underage drink, and become pregnant as a teen.