MTV is now casting a new season of its thought-provoking documentary series “16 and Pregnant”
The series follows the journeys of young women as they face unexpected pregnancies and navigate the difficulties of becoming parents at a young age.
MTV states its goal is to give viewers a look inside the realities of teen pregnancy — from morning sickness and balancing school responsibilities to navigating incredibly difficult decisions and relationships with boyfriends and/or parents, ultimately to the day of the baby’s arrival and beyond.
The show has been criticized as glorifying teen pregnancy but in actuality, studies we’ve seen show the opposite.
The show reveals much of the downside of teen pregnancy and therefore acts as a deterrent, some reports state.
A 2014 study suggested a direct link between the show and a drop in pregnancy rates, in a study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
It found that the rate of teenage pregnancy declined faster in areas where teenagers were watching more MTV programming. After crunching the numbers, researchers concluded that the shows prevented more than 20,000 births to teen mothers in 2010 alone.
There are still the skeptical that say because the cast members become celebrities in their own right, then it does indeed make teen pregnancy seem more exciting.
In any event, the show answered critics by creating the Teen Mom spinoff to continue to present the challenges.
It stopped airing in 2014 but MTV is back at it!
According to a recent announcement provided to Bellyitch, “MTV is looking for young women from varying backgrounds who are facing an unplanned pregnancy and would like to share their personal story about this life-changing and complicated journey.”
The creators want anyone who would like to share their story “in order to raise awareness about this issue, please email us as soon as possible at [email protected].”
Include the city and state you live in and the reason why you’d like to share your story as part of “16 and Pregnant.”
Applicants must be at least 16 years of age as of February 1, 2017 to apply.
Interesting.