While I’m standing in line at Target to check out, a few things manage to catch my eye. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos con Limon, Trident Gum and all the tabloid magazine covers. I’m not a big fan of Us, People, Star or other gossip based publications, but lately that’s all my mom has been bringing home. As a last resort, I choose to read them and now I’ve noticed that every one of these magazines either have a full blown feature or a simple blurb about the hit MTV series, Teen Mom.

So let me break this down. A high school teenager gets pregnant. She then chooses to publicize her pregnancy to the world (for who knows what reason) by starring on 16 and Pregnant. The show becomes a huge success resulting in several girls becoming reality TV stars on the spin off series, Teen Mom. In other words, these girls are famous for making wrong decisions. There is something wrong with this picture.

What happened to showcasing those who deserve to be admired? Making straight A’s. Being captain of the football team. Choosing to turn away from drugs and other harmful substances. Participating in charity events or giving back to the community. These are just a few of the acts done by kids who should be acclaimed.

Instead MTV airs series about “teens dealing with the hardships of pregnancy.” These kinds of shows serve no purpose. Some may say their motives are to send out a message, to warn students and make them aware of the consequences of engaging in sexual activities. But let’s be realistic here. They are causing a complete opposite effect on teenage students. Now everyone wants to get their sixty minutes of fame no matter what the case may be. MTV is strictly based on making big money and bringing entertainment into the homes of all types of people. So if that means resorting to sex, violence, drugs and staging certain scenes for popularity, then it will be done. It’s an industry that has grown on exploiting people in a negative light (Jersey Shore, The Real World, Sex with Mom and Dad etc.).

Now I tend to be a realistic person. I know if there were reality shows or cover stories based on students doing the right thing, they wouldn’t be much of a success. Sadly enough our society, including me, chooses to see the unruly and destructive aspects of life. That’s what sells.

I want to make sure that no one misunderstands the meaning of what I’m trying to say here. Everyone makes mistakes, especially teenagers. But the fact that young adults are receiving worldwide fame for something that would normally be seen as inappropriate is beyond me. Maybe MTV should stick to what it was originally intended to be, Music Television. Not Misleading Television.