LAZARO: MTV reality shows making teen pregnancies an intentional ploy for stardom

Magazine covers across the country display the faces of girls from MTV's "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom."

Since appearing on the reality television shows, a number of these girls have become somewhat famous.

But ... for what? These girls aren't movie stars, pop stars or athletes. Instead, these girls have become famous for getting pregnant as teenagers. Maci Bookout, Amber Portwood and Farrah Abraham, just to name a few, have all been seen on many magazine covers. It's hard to believe this is what has made these girls famous and difficult to fathom the morality of it all.

As a child, you're consistently taught about abstinence, the many forms of birth control and STDs throughout your school years. It's strange to see the opposite of what you were taught being somewhat applauded. As someone who was never pregnant as a teenager, it's a little frustrating to see these girls become famous for taking a path that every young girl in America was told not to.

According to wetpaint.com, Kim Kardashian wrote on her blog, "It seems that shows like ‘Teen Mom' are all of a sudden making teen pregnancy seem cool in the eyes of young girls. The kids from these shows are all over the news, even on the covers of magazines, and have become almost like celebrities, but girls, these are not people you should idolize!"

FINALLY!

For so long, I've felt I was the only one who thought this about these shows, and at last, someone has said something. Obviously, the media sell what's popular and they can't control the likes and dislikes of the population. But is MTV really sending the right message by allowing these shows to go on?

Approximately 2.8 million viewers watched the season two premiere of "16 and Pregnant." This is a monumental number of people, and there's a good chance the majority of these viewers are young girls.

Although the shows do illustrate the hardships the girls go through, the main thing they're displaying is that these girls are on television. Many of the girls even got their own TV show along with the riches and fame that came with the popularity of it all.

The idea of becoming a star has to be somewhat tempting to young girls. According to Popeater.com, "young ladies are so eager to be on reality TV that they are actually getting pregnant just to score an audition." It is heartbreaking that young girls would actually do something so drastic and alter their lives so completely just for the chance to be famous. And it's not only heartbreaking for the girls: Think about the children who could possibly be born because of this.

There are not only rumors of young girls purposely getting pregnant to be on the show, but according to both Realitytea.com and Ology.com, "16 and Pregnant" star Jennifer Del Rio allegedly got pregnant on purpose just to land a role on the show. The father of her twin sons, Josh Smith, claims Del Rio told him she was pregnant three months before she actually was so he wouldn't wear a condom.

These two have also been in the news for domestic violence against each other, according to Realitytea.com. Del Rio allegedly punched Smith in the face during an argument and Smith was seen kicking Del Rio out of his car, leaving her on the side of the road during their episode of "16 and Pregnant."

This is another great example of the type of people who are gaining ridiculous amounts of fame.

Even if MTV were to cancel both "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom," the stars of the shows are already in the media and will probably continue to be for some time. However, MTV would at least be stopping more girls from becoming famous for the wrong thing and killing any last ambitions other girls have of becoming pregnant to become famous.

Gabrielle Lazaro is a junior News-Editorial major. Reach her at

opinion@dailynebraskan.com