Teen Mom Obsession

            Earlier in American history, being a teen mom was considered taboo and rarely spoken about publicly. Now, many teen-aged women seem to view pregnancy as a claim to fame. TV shows like MTV’s Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2 glorify teen pregnancy and help bring the phenomenon into the mainstream. These shows follow the lives of teen mothers as they struggle to meet the demands of raising children.   While the shows reveal many of the unglamorous aspects of motherhood, they nonetheless romanticize teen pregnancy by making celebrities of the young women whom they spotlight.

            I admit that I watched my fair share of these shows when they first came out—fascinated by the hurdles that women my age face when confronted with the demands of motherhood.  Now, however, I worry that—by viewing these shows—I may have fueled a phenomenon that I find so troubling.  By gawking at the spectacle of young women—practically children themselves—raising their own children, I’m afraid I may have unwittingly inspired the next wave of teen mothers.  While the producers of these shows may have intended to teach young women that being a teen mom is not an easy task, I worry that the shows may impart the opposite lesson.

            In 2010, a survey was conducted to determine the levels of teen pregnancy in America. The results showed that teen pregnancy is on the rise for the first time in over a decade. In recent interviews, several teens teen mothers reported that they considered getting pregnant as a way to get on TV and possibly become famous.  Indeed, many of the participants on the show have become celebrities, gracing the covers of magazines such as People, OK!, US Weekly, in-touch and others.

            So why do we Americans have this obsession with teen mothers? Is it because we want to live vicariously through these people? Is it because we love to see others struggle? Or do we crave a glimpse into an unknown world?  I suspect that each of the more than five million viewers that tune in to show has his or her own, private motivation.  But the collective effect is disturbing.  It may help explain the fact 70% of girls and 64% of boys in America think that teen pregnancy is okay. I think it is important that we teach our young people that pregnancy is not a short cut to fame, but a life-altering experience that should not be undertaken until one is fully prepared. 

Teens On Torture

In 1973, the United States made the decision to end the draft, resulting in an all-volunteer military force.  Since then, some critics have argued that subsequent generations of Americans, who have not experienced the draft, are “soft” and “weak”, especially the young men. This may be because many young Americans who have never experienced the draft have begun to take their liberties and privileges for granted, and have never had to prepare themselves to face the challenge of being torn away from their comfortable lives to go to war.  Perhaps this is why a recent study conducted by the Daily Beast reported that teenagers in America “look more favorably on torture”, especially in the war.

According to the study, more than 60% of American teens felt that things like “water-boarding and sleep deprivation” are sometimes acceptable. The support for torture that teens expressed far outstripped the support reported by adults. It is debatable as to whether this is attributable to the end of the draft, or perhaps to the Bush Administration’s decision to normalize torture. When the Commander and Chief makes that argument that torture is acceptable, it can have a profound influence on the values of the nation. Another possible factor shaping the opinions that teens have of torture could be the influence that the media has on the popular perceptions of war. The graphic war images that are so readily accessible today on the Internet, as well as through more traditional forms of media, such as television, could be a factor in making teens numb to the horrors of war.

Another possible source of the tolerance teens show for violence may be the prevalence of graphically violent video games. Through games such as “Counter Strike” and “Call of Duty,” young boys are exposed to violence and gore, and many come to see such violence as normal and even enjoyable. A study conducted by the American Psychological Association noted that when boys play violent video games, even for just a few minutes, they display elevated levels of aggression. The boys who played violent video games reported that they felt like behaving in a more aggressive manner, and wanted to do something violent. Statistics like these make me question why we allow such violent video games to be marketed to young people.

The acceptance that American teens display toward torture is a troubling sign for the future of our nation. The prohibition on torture has been an important principle that has guided our nation throughout its history.  If the next generation is willing to accept torture, and in doing so, sacrifice their freedom from being tortured, what other rights will they be willing to give up?  Should there be more censorship of the media and video games in order to educate our teens as to the importance of civil liberties? If our society decides that tortures such as waterboarding are acceptable, only worse will come after.

Instant-aholics

            It seems that it is nearly impossible to go anywhere today and not see someone playing with some form of technology.  Whether it is a sixty-year-old woman fiddling on her new Iphone, or a seven-year-old texting on her new Blackberry, we are all hooked! While most people would argue that these new technologies provide convenient ways to get a hold of your young child or your aging mother, I wonder if perhaps we are too dependent on cell phones and other electronic gadgets.  Are we, as a society, addicted?

Gadgets have wormed their way into every aspect of our lives.  We not only use these high tech devices to call and text people, but we also use them to research things that we want to know the answer to right away. When we try to search something and it takes longer than 5 seconds, we get antsy, and complain that our device is taking too long. While my generation has seen the introduction of the Internet and high-tech cell phones, the problem is especially prevalent amongst the younger generations who have not experienced life without it. Young people today seem incapable of accomplishing anything without the help of technology. Now that cell phones function as mini computers, we have all the world’s information at our fingertips at an instant; in turn, we have all become “instant-aholics”.

Recently, I have been watching young kids at meals and in public settings to see how they interact with their surroundings. I have noticed that the majority of kids, seated at tables with their friends and families, rarely look up from their devices to make eye contact with anyone in their presence. Even walking down the street or hanging out with friends, most of their time is spent on their phones, texting or gaming.  I recently saw a young woman on horseback, texting! While I think that this is diminishing their social skills (not to mention their equestrian abilities), I am also concerned with the fact that kids, immersed as they are in their various devices, are missing all the things that are happening right before their downcast eyes.

According to a study conducted at the University of Maryland by the International Center for Media and Public Affairs, it is challenging for many young people, and, for some, impossible, to go 24 hours without their cell phones and similar technologies. The study was conducted throughout the United States, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, and asked over 2,000 students to go “unplugged” for the day. The researchers found that the overwhelming number of students struggled with this task, and felt that they had a clear “addiction” to technology, calling it their “drug”. Students reported that, throughout their day without their technology, they felt bored, confused, stressed, and isolated. Many of the participants reported having “hostile” and “jealous” feelings towards people who they saw on cell phones, and felt as though they were experiencing “withdraw”.

A Chilean student stated, “I didn’t use my cell phone all night. It was a difficult day… a horrible day.  After this, I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT MEDIA! I need my social webs, my cell phone, my Mac, my mp3 always!”  Is this the battle cry of the next generation, or a cry for help?

            Based on the data that was gathered in this study, it is clear that our time spent with technology has gotten out of control, and is best understood as an addiction.  If left unaddressed, the problem is bound to get worse. These students were in their late teens and early twenties.  We must consider what will come of the next generation who are experiencing this addiction at a much younger and more vulnerable age. While technology has immense benefits, is it really worth the risk of creating an entire generation that is incapable of making eye contact with the person sitting across the table from them? 

Violence Against Women

In American society today, we have come quite a long way when it comes to women’s rights and justice for women. However, we still have far to go. Over the last few weeks, the number of stories that I have seen related to rape of women is jaw dropping. According to RAINN, the largest anti-sexual violence organization, every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted, and one out of six women has been the victim of rape. In a 2003 survey, nine out of ten rape victims were female, and 17.7 million victims of rape have been women. The fact that fifteen out of sixteen rapists will never spend a day in jail proves that the safety of women is not enough of a priority in our society today.

When I as a woman, looks at the statistics above, I can’t help but wonder why there are not more efforts being done to prevent rape or make the dangers and effects of rape more known by the public. This is a universal problem and greater efforts need to be made around the world to prevent violence against women.

Recently, there has been wide media coverage of a Lybian woman who was raped by Qaddfi’s soldiers. In places like Lybia, it is rare that a woman comes forward to claim that she has been raped due to the fact ,that not only do women have few rights, but when a woman does come forward to say that she has been raped, her family and friends often disown her due to shame and humiliation. For this woman in particular, it seemed that she wanted to do what she felt was right and make sure that the men who committed this heinous crime against her were punished for it. One would have thought that running into a hotel full of journalists would help someone in a situation like hers; however, she was taken at knife point and thrown into a car by the hotel staff who were trying to protect Qaddfi’s regime. Later she was accused of being “drunk and mentally ill”, and it was claimed that the reports of abuse and rape were her “fantasies”. While the Lybian police are holding her in custody and claim that she is being treated fairly, only time will tell if this is true.

Many people think this is a story of how low foreign troops can go, as to rape, intimidate, urinate and defecate upon, beat, and verbally abuse an innocent woman; but it is not. While this story does show the dark side of rape, we must be aware that this is not a problem that is limited to Lybia; it is a universal problem that is felt all over the world. At the same time, this horrific story occurred in Lybia, a similar case happened in Texas, the heart of America. This did not involve Qaddfi’s people; these were normal people, including a star high-school basketball player, proving that this issue is universal.

In a recent article posted by the Digital Journal, an eleven-year old girl was raped in Texas and is now being blamed for it due to her provocative appearance. Eighteen young men have been arrested for allegedly raping this eleven year old girl in Texas a few months ago. In the beginning, this case was taken as a rape case that “no one denies happened”, but it is now gaining further attention due to the fact that the young victim is being accused of “wanting this to happen” to her.

The defendants and their family members are stepping into a territory that to me is shocking; stating that the victim should be blamed because she dressed provocatively and “may” have lied about her age. A woman from the Texas area said to reporters about the case, “She lied about her age. Them boys didn't rape her. She wanted this to happen. I'm not taking nobody's side, but if she hadn't put herself in that predicament, this would have never happened."

 Really?

According to the victim’s mother, the young girl still “loves stuffed bears”. To me, it is shocking that people would stoop so low as to try to blame an eleven-year-old girl for being raped in an abandoned trailer by several young men. Who would want this to happen to them? Because this incident occurred in such a small town, and in turn affected so many people, there is a huge amount of blame and denial directed towards the victim.

Rape and violence against women occur everywhere. So why isn’t more attention paid to this issue? There is no place that is safe from rape, and no woman is beyond its reach.