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

Post by swegg » Fri, Dec 25, 2015, 8:05 PM UTC

sokoloff wrote: post #12

striking wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Post by hkmurakami » Fri, Dec 25, 2015, 8:19 PM UTC

cryptoz wrote: post #22

hkmurakami wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Not necessarily. As a society, we spend a lot more on Hollywood storytelling than we do on space exploration. And certainly more than a mission to Mars would cost.

Post by meagain20000 » Fri, Dec 25, 2015, 8:42 PM UTC

hkmurakami wrote: post #23

cryptoz wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessarily. As a society, we spend a lot more on Hollywood storytelling than we do on space exploration. And certainly more than a mission to Mars would cost.

iirc (from the talk) a mission to Mars will cost a few trillion dollars (I forgot the exact figure, but somewhere between $1T and $10T). That's a lot more than Hollywood storytelling.

Post by nommm-nommm » Fri, Dec 25, 2015, 8:45 PM UTC

sokoloff wrote: post #12

striking wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Post by nommm-nommm » Fri, Dec 25, 2015, 8:52 PM UTC

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #24

nommm-nommm wrote: post #14

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 rea…

Yeah in the 90s a friend of mine wanted to get an IUD but her gynecologist objected on the grounds that they were not appropriate for young women. I wonder if the technology changed, or just the doctrine.