海角大神

Admit it: you watch reality TV on occasion 鈥� most of us do. It鈥檚 highly entertaining! You get to dive into someone else鈥檚 world 鈥� their families, choices, careers, etc. 鈥� without ever having to leave your living room. But what are the effects of this kind of voyeurism on our society?

One new study, done by the聽,聽suggests that the recent decline in the teen pregnancy rate in the US 鈥� dropping 5.7 percent in 18 months 鈥� is at least partially caused by MTV reality shows such as 鈥�Teen Mom鈥� and 鈥�16 and Pregnant.鈥� It could be argued that these shows serve as warnings to all teenagers that life with a baby is not all it can sometimes be cracked up to be. It鈥檚 full of sleepless nights, big decisions, and it really shakes up the relationship between partners, especially if they鈥檝e yet to finish high school, much less committed their lives to one another.

On the other hand,聽another , found that reality shows give teens an unrealistic, glamorized view of pregnancy and teen parenthood. The study reports that these shows make teen pregnancy seem too easy to deal with, especially since the stars of these shows are paid far more than average teen parents earn in a year. Financial hardship is one area that isn鈥檛 depicted much on these so-called 鈥渞eality鈥� shows.聽

These studies seem to contradict each other, but doesn鈥檛 that mirror our society鈥檚 love/hate relationship with reality TV? Just as much as it repulses us as we watch, it draws us right back in.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I felt the reality TV pull. Shows like TLC鈥檚 鈥淎 Baby Story,鈥� which so many people specifically told me not to watch, drew me in. It made my imagination run wild as I thought about what my birth experience would be like.聽

But the thing is, it鈥檚 not realistic 鈥� not even close. An entire birth is summed up in the space of half an hour at the most. My daughter鈥檚 birth took 19 hours, and I would say that falls within a normal amount of time for a first baby. The show only features the most dramatic aspects of birth, which are a far cry from the usual hurry-up-and-wait reality of childbirth.

Now, when my first-time-mom friends ask me what to do to prepare for birth, I recommend talking with other moms (especially ones who have had positive birth experiences), reading a blog called聽Birth Without Fear聽(which includes straightforward personal stories about birth that don鈥檛 seem sensationalized), and books like Ina May Gaskin鈥檚 鈥淕uide to Childbirth鈥� (which I feel reinforces women鈥檚 natural confidence in their ability to give birth naturally and fearlessly).

Preparing for the reality of having a baby is definitely important, but preparing for it through reality TV is always going to lead to mixed results. Reality TV just doesn't include accurate portrayals of birth or parenting 鈥� it would take way too long to fit every important detail and nuance of these topics into a TV time slot.聽

And all the makeup, lighting, and other production tricks make everything 鈥� even struggle 鈥� appear more glamorous than it actually is.聽

Reality TV gives us unnatural perceptions of what our lives should be like. It sets in motion unrealistic expectations (good and bad) that don't include the variables of everyday life because of scripts and production crews.聽

Reality is unpredictable 鈥� reality TV is much less so. Which will you choose to govern your life choices?