MTV’s reality show “Teen Mom”, a spin-off of “16 and Pregnant”, portrays a variety of teenagers whose lives are shaken when they find out they are going to have a baby. These young kids have to finish school, pay for new expenses, and try to maintain healthy relationships with the fathers and their family members, along with taking care of a newborn. Viewers see everything from the diaper changing to the fights between the parents.

The topic of teen pregnancy is very controversial. When the show first aired the producers were harshly criticized.

According to “Today Entertainment”, producers defended their decision to put a spotlight on the issue and claimed the show would prevent more young girls from getting pregnant if they saw what it was really like to be a teenage mother.

In the show’s early years MTV strove to keep the message strong: an unplanned teen pregnancy will bring heartache and make getting an education extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Some could argue that the reality show demonstrates the struggles of being a young parent and discourages the choice of unprotected sex early in life. But other viewers could argue that the attention, publicity, and money the moms and dads receive for being on the show glorifies the decisions they have made and makes them famous for these decisions.

People who think that the show is more of a prevention campaign can argue that the way pregnancy and parenthood are shown throughout the seasons is not glorified or glamorous, but brutally honest.

According to a survey from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, out of 1,008 kids from ages 12 to 19 who have watched “16 & Pregnant”, 82 percent believe the show helps them and other teens grasp the real obstacles of teen pregnancy as well as becoming a parent.

These documentary series tell the honest, unpleasant truth of teen pregnancy in America. It’s not sugar coated and every girl on the show does not end up happy with the perfect family and dream career that she planned out in her head. There is no fairytale ending.

In a 2011 interview with CNN about why she created “16 and Pregnant”, Senior VP of the series Lauren Dolgen said, “These young women struggle to make ends meet. They make mistakes as they try to navigate an adult life too soon. Relationships with their partners, parents and friends often crumble, and the pressure of raising a child is often too much to bear.”

On the other side, some may say that the popularity of this show can lead teenagers to believe that if they become pregnant they could become famous and be on magazines like the young moms and dads on MTV.

Some viewers say that TV is just a scapegoat for all of society’s problems.

The media’s interest of the stars grew as the show became more popular. The moms started to appear on the covers of magazines like “Us,” “Ok!” and even “People.”

As the media’s obsession grew, so did the digits on these young mother’s paychecks. The struggle of scrounging for money to buy diapers and formula now turned into an easy task. Moms started to split their money and spend it on other “necessities” such as breast implants, houses and luxury cars.

According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, the pilot episode for “16 and Pregnant” had 2.1 million viewers. Months later, the season finale brought 3.6 million viewers. The message taken away from the show strictly depends on what the viewer believes in.

For me, the show is not drastically preventing or promoting unplanned pregnancy. I believe that these MTV shows are leaning more toward ridiculous. These teens have more important things to worry about rather than what to say when the camera is on them. The amounts of money they receive are realistic. They need to learn to work hard and provide for their child. The only reason I watch the show is because of the drama and honestly just to get a good laugh when the parents fight over ludicrous topics. The amount of money that the teens recieve from being on the show is very unrealistic. Regardless, the show has lost its original message and has little to no hope of gaining it back.