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How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

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Re: How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

#11

Post by cfcef »

"Levine easily admits that 16 and Pregnant is unlikely to be the entire story. One data point his theory has trouble explaining is the steep decline in teen pregnancy rates between 2012 and 2013, long after the MTV shows' ratings had peaked.

"The continuing, rapid decline is the part I find a little confusing," he said. "The recession and the show get you a lot of the way through 2011 and 2012. But I was a bit surprised by the most recent, rapid decline in the 2013 data."

http://www.vox.com/2014/8/20/5987845/the-mystery-of-the-fall...

Re: How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

#12

Post by sokoloff »

striking wrote: post #7
dimitar wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is interesting, but plan B has appeared by the FDA with no age restrictions or prescription in 2013 and the effects they analyse are from 2009-2010. The demand for it might be well driven by partly by "16 and pregnant". Now if only MTV could make a show "16 with an STD", American teens might start using condoms as much as European kids.

I think "You Can't Pray the Baby Away" would be a more suitable title, considering the prevalence of the abstinence movement and their goals. I weep for the children who gain such a burden so early in their lives.

I'm more concerned for the baby's prospects than the teens'. (Baby is utterly innocent.) The teen situation is also unfortunate, but was also of their own doing in almost every case.

Re: How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

#13

Post by dominotw »

SFLemonade wrote: post #8

Logically speaking, we could apply this the other way as well, right? I wonder what horrors shows like "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and "Housewives of Beverly Hills" have done to our society. "But it's just entertainment, I don't take it seriously"......bullshit Karen, bullshit!!

I enjoy keeping up..., defo not horror show.

I just don't understand the negative reaction towards kardashisans. I consider them to be pioneers in their field, hackers of reality tv.

Re: How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

#14

Post by nommm-nommm »

The teen pregnancy rate in the United States is falling dramatically. It just reached a historic low and has dropped by 61% since 1991.

However, nobody really knows why. Theres a lot of hypothesises going around (this being one) but the real reason is probably a combination of many factors. There is probably a positive feedback effect going on as well, lowering teen pregnancy leads to even lower teen pregnancy.

I read an article several months ago that gave (I believe) 9 factors that probably play a role.

Theres also a lot of successful programs going on at a very local level in many cities/towns/states such as this one in Colorado - http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-colorado-lowered-their-teen-...

Addressing the teen pregnancies caused by birth control failure - The American Academy of Pediatrics just released their recommendations that IUDs should be a first line contraception for teenagers. 10 years ago they were only recommended for parous women (those who have given birth). The importance of this can't be overstated - IUDs are extremely effective as well as reduce the chance of human error to basically zero and require no maintenance by the user.

I strongly caution giving too much credit to any one thing.

Its all very fascinating stuff.

Re: How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

#15

Post by hkmurakami »

TheGRS wrote: post #2

I had heard about this a few years ago and I find it fascinating. Entertainment being used for good! Its interesting how effective this particular show has been, so I have to wonder how effective those heavy-handed episodes of Family Matters or Home Improvement were. I'm sure there are many examples of a TV show heavily impacting stuff that we encounter in our everyday lives, but I also would recommend reading The Po…

I once sat in a talk by a NASA Ames director (?) about his belief that even the tremendous cost for a manned mission to Mars would be "worth it" for the inspiration it would provide to the youth of the country to pursue STEM fields.

But then I thought -- wait, wouldn't it be much cheaper if we could harness the same kind of inspiration through Hollywood storytelling?

Re: How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

#16

Post by [deleted] »

TheGRS wrote: post #2

I had heard about this a few years ago and I find it fascinating. Entertainment being used for good! Its interesting how effective this particular show has been, so I have to wonder how effective those heavy-handed episodes of Family Matters or Home Improvement were. I'm sure there are many examples of a TV show heavily impacting stuff that we encounter in our everyday lives, but I also would recommend reading The Po…

[deleted]

Re: How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

#18

Post by nommm-nommm »

Chromozon wrote: post #9
incardone wrote: post #3

I think the prevalence of plan B has reduced teen pregnancy

I would caution this thinking. Plan B pills are very expensive- $50 at your local Walgreens. Teenage pregnancies are highest in areas with high income inequality. Most of these families are living paycheck to paycheck, and the kids have no money. They cannot simply walk into a store and plop $50 on the counter after every time they have had unprotected sex.

Unfortunately it isn't widely known that Plan B can be gotten at Planned Parenthood for cheap to free. When I was poor and 50 dollars would break the bank I went to Planned Parenthood hoping they'd have better prices than the pharmacy. I nearly fainted (in a good way) when they gave it to me free, no questions asked. I couldn't have been more thankful.

To be honest I think the pharmacy prices are a sham. Extremely disappointing from a public health perspective.

Re: How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

#19

Post by enave »

cfcef wrote: post #11

"Levine easily admits that 16 and Pregnant is unlikely to be the entire story. One data point his theory has trouble explaining is the steep decline in teen pregnancy rates between 2012 and 2013, long after the MTV shows' ratings had peaked. "The continuing, rapid decline is the part I find a little confusing," he said. "The recession and the show get you a lot of the way through 2011 and 2012. But I was a bit surpri…

After the show peaked girls who had grown up watching it entered puberty. They remembered the lessons

Re: How MTV's “16 and Pregnant” May Have Reduced Teen Pregnancy

#20

Post by saym »

SFLemonade wrote: post #8

Logically speaking, we could apply this the other way as well, right? I wonder what horrors shows like "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and "Housewives of Beverly Hills" have done to our society. "But it's just entertainment, I don't take it seriously"......bullshit Karen, bullshit!!

I don't know why you chose Karen, but the name reminded me of that Goodfellas scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voDqfVthTpA

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