The Relationship Between “Teen Mom” Reality Programming and Teenagers' Beliefs About Teen Parenthood

But We’re Not Like the People on TV: A Qualitative Examination of How Media Messages are Perceived by Pregnant and Parenting Youth

“…For many of the young mothers, poverty is a daily concern however they noted how financial struggles are downplayed in reality programming while other aspects are glamourized. A study conducted by Martins and Jenson [21] also reported that teen pregnancy reality programming fosters unrealistic perceptions of teenage motherhood. Further, that heavy viewers of teen mom reality programming tended to perceive teen mothers as having a desirable quality of life with adequate incomes and ongoing involvement of the father of the child.…”

“…Other research purports that this programming produces damaging effects though unrepresentative and inauthentic portrayals of teenage pregnancy and motherhood [21]. Further, that such programs propagate unrealistic perceptions and act to further stigmatize an already marginalized population [21,26].…”

“…The influence of media on adolescent risk behaviour is well documented in the areas of alcohol consumption [10,11], tobacco use [12,13], aggression [14], body image [15], disordered eating [16,17], early sexual initiation [18,19], and pregnancy [20]. More recently, research has linked youth viewership of teen mom reality programming to the formation of perceptions about adolescent motherhood [21,22]. Researchers have started to examine the complex relational mechanisms between the media and risk behaviour [19], however few studies rely on qualitative research approaches to elicit the perspectives of teens themselves.…”

“…More specifically, there is little agreement regarding the perceived influence of teen mom reality television programming, such at Teen Mom, Teen Mom 2, 16 and Pregnant. As a genre, reality television has been described as entertainment-oriented programming that documents the unscripted words, actions and behaviours of individuals that are representing themselves [21,24]. The teen mom reality programming claims to follow a cast of characters through their day-to-day lives, and chronicle the challenges and realities of teenage pregnancy and parenting.…”

El publicista social en la convergencia del Buen Vivir y los ODS

“…Además, se identificó homofilia e interacción social con los personajes (Aubrey, Behm-Morawitx, & Kim, 2014). En ese contexto se demostró un aumento de la tendencia a creer que las madres adolescentes tienen una calidad de vida envidiable, un ingreso alto y padres implicados (Martins & Jensen, 2014).…”