In a couple of weeks, MTV will start airing their new documentary series, "Teen Mom." A follow-up to the hit "16 and Pregnant," this new show takes you back into the lives of four of the original "16 and Pregnant" girls -- Maci, Amber, Catelynn, and Farrah -- for their first year of teen motherhood, asking whether you can live like a teenager once you've become a parent.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first heard that MTV -- the network that arguably started the reality TV craze with "The Real World" nearly a generation ago, and is now known for launching the careers of Lauren Conrad and Spencer Pratt -- was planning a documentary-style series on pregnant and parenting teenagers. After watching the initial six-episode run of "16 and Pregnant," I know one thing... I'm hooked and I'm going to watch every single episode of "Teen Mom."

Like I said at the end of my first post about The Sims 3, the teen pregnancy rate for sims is zero. Makes perfect sense seeing as how teen sims can't WooHoo. But, as we all know, teen pregnancy is all too common in real life, so why not have it in a game that's supposed to be realistic?

According to the publisher, EA Games, teen pregnancy is not part of the game because it could raise the game's ERSB rating from T (for Teen) to M (for Mature Audiences Only), and it's so off-limits that they won't even allow people to discuss teen pregnancy in their forums.

Usually the dog days of summer are a TV wasteland - all the good shows are in repeats and if there are new shows on, it's hard to get into them because there are vacations, BBQs, and blockbuster summer movies to go to instead. But if you're into teen pregnancy stories, then this summer is actually a great time to be watching TV.

ABC Family's "Secret Life of the American Teenager" (Mondays at 8p) and MTV's "16 & Pregnant" (Thursdays at 10p) are both showing new episodes this summer and both are well worth watching.

 

Have you been watching the new documentary series "16 and Pregnant" on MTV? I have and I think it's great. But I'm a 31-year-old man -- hardly MTV's demographic -- so you probably don't care what I think.  Instead, I've asked one of the wonderful teens with whom we work, Avery from Chevy Chase, MD, with to share some of her thoughts on the show. Here's what she had to say:

The title of MTV's new show, "16 and Pregnant," is pretty self-explanatory. The show shares the personal stories of teenage girls who are dealing with pregnancy and parents. Despite the fact that they all have teen pregnancy in common, each of the girls we've met so far - Maci from Tennessee, Farrah from Iowa, and Amber from Indiana - have completely different lives and interests. However, each of the girls starts out saying that she will keep her life nearly the same as her pre-pregnancy existence once she has her baby. Not surprisingly, conflicts immediately arise. The main issues stem from the teens' desire to maintain some, if not all, of their pre-baby priorities and the strain it puts on their relationships.

There's a new show premiering this week on MTV that is a must-watch for anyone who cares about teen pregnancy or teens in general. "16 and Pregnant" is a 6-part series done in documentary style with one story per episode. It features 6 teen girls, all from different places, backgrounds and circumstances. MTV followed them through their pregnancies and in the time after they gave birth and captured the angst, drama, gossip, worry, heartache, excitement, confusion, pain, love, hope and helplessness that comes with being pregnant as teenager. It is riveting to watch and impossible to forget.

The first episode, which airs Thursday at 10p ET/PT, tells the story of Maci - an over-achiever from Chattanooga, Tennessee who is in the glorious throes of her first love when she finds out she's pregnant. I don't want to give anything away, but suffice it to say there's a big reality check in store for her. And her boyfriend. And anyone else who thinks having a baby at 16 is going to be like a fairy tale.

Not only are we big fans of the show, but we're also involved behind the scenes. We're preparing discussion guides to go along with each episode so that teens and parents and other adults have a place to start when they want to talk about what they're watching. Once the initial on-air run is complete, we'll also be distributing DVDs of the show to groups, classrooms and programs who need compelling content on this important topic to share with teens.

Check out the discussion guides and FAQ at http://www.stayteen.org/tuned/16-and-pregnant/ and don't forget to set your DVRs accordingly.

Last night, MTV premiered "Pedro," a story about his life and a chronicle of his efforts to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS. President Bill Clinton famously called him to tell him how much his efforts meant and that "the country owed him a lot." His eventual death was probably the first time that many young people actually felt that someone they knew and cared about died from a disease that carried a lot of myths, misperceptions and huge stigma.

Such is the power of TV--especially reality TV. We all know in our heads that reality TV isn't real. We know people exaggerate their behavior to get more air time and that they're all competing for their 15 minutes.

But in our hearts we do get attached to these people. We start to care about them in spite of ourselves, and that's why we keep watching. A lot has changed since 1994, when Pedro and his Real World housemates were early pioneers of the entire reality TV phenomenon. But what he did in his short life, what he meant to viewers and what he taught them about living with HIV continues to mean something to real live teens. He proved that someone on TV really can reach through the screen and change lives.

Today, half of all sexually-active young people will contract an STD by age 25--and most won't know it. That's why last night's premiere of "Pedro" kicked off STD Awareness Month, and GYT: Get Yourself Tested, a new public awareness campaign from MTV, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. GYT is an extension of MTV and Kaiser's "It's Your (Sex) Life" partnership to promote responsible decision making about sex. Check out their newly revamped web site, watch the movie on MTV, and tell us what you think.

As noted in a post by Jezebel last week, MTV is under fire from the conservative advocacy group Concerned Women for America for advertising Plan B emergency contraception on their website. A few points on the subject:

1. I can't resist noting that if Concerned Women is so concerned about minors getting funny ideas in their heads about sex from visiting mtv.com, they might want to start by protesting videos of hot tub group make-out sessions rather than contraception ads. Seriously though, what's sexier, naked twenty-somethings making out in a hot-tub, or a pregnancy scare?
   
   
2. More to the point, MTV is targeted toward young adults and many young adults use contraception. According to an article on AdAge.com, part of the argument against advertising Plan B on a website with users under 18 is the age-restriction on Plan B. First of all, I'm a bit skeptical about the suggestion that "the owner of Plan B is directly targeting younger girls in order just to sell more of their product."  I can't speak for the makers of Plan B, but it seems to me that a more effective marketing strategy would be to target a demographic that can simply go to the store and buy your product without a prescription. Furthermore, just because Plan B is not approved for over-the-counter sale to women under 18 does not mean that teens don't need to learn about sex and relationships before the age of emancipation. (For more on the Plan B age-restriction, check out the National Women's Health Network's statement on the subject).
   
   
3. Which brings me to my last point. The concerns of CWA seem to me a perfect illustration of why comprehensive sex education—that is, sex education that teaches both abstinence and contraception—is crucial to help young people make sense of the many conflicting messages they are exposed to by media, school, parents, and peers. In the AdAge.com story, parent Denise O'Donoghue is quoted as saying that upon initiating "the talk" with her 14-year-old daughter, she was "shocked at how much misinformation and misconception among kids is really out there about sexual education."

Wouldn't it be more constructive to ensure that teens are equipped with accurate knowledge about sex and relationships rather than pointing fingers at a media outlet which targets young adults for advertising contraception?  What do you think?

Flying home on Virgin America from San Francisco this week I took in an episode of MTV's "Sex with Mom and Dad" on the in-flight entertainment system.  While I was prepared to be entertained, I was not expecting to be as engaged as I was by Dr. Drew Pinsky's moderation of the parent-kid talk.

TV critic Brittany Doctor says in her review that, "Sex" is an enlightening show. It's a shock to see how little many teens around the country know about the dangers of unprotected sex, as demonstrated in episode five when Tiara revealed that she didn't know that she could get pregnant or infected even if her boyfriend "pulled out."  Exactly...except I wouldn't limit the commentary to teens--as you'll see for yourself.

The bottom line in all of the wide-ranging episodes is that parent-child communication is so very important.  And the age of the participants doesn't matter.  Talking about and planning for your most important moments makes sense.  "Sex with Mom and Dad" takes a step in the direction of making the conversation easier.

The Russell Brand/Jonas Brothers/Jordin Sparks dust-up sure is delicious, huh?  For those without a scorecard, the drama has unfolded something like this:

• Russell Brand hosted MTV's Video Music Awards last Sunday. (As an aside, am I the only person in the United States who has no idea who Russell Brand is?  I thought it was athletic wear.)  
• Brand saw fit to use his MTV bully pulpit to make fun of The Jonas Brothers—the tween heart-throb band de jour—and their rather public commitment to abstinence.  Among other pearls of wisdom, Brand said about the Jonas Brothers purity rings "I'd take them more seriously if they wore it around their genitals."
• American Idol winner Jordin Sparks also appeared on the VMA show and fired back at bad boy Brand:  "I just have one thing to say about promise rings.  It's not bad to wear a promise ring, because not everybody—guy or girls—wants to be a slut."
• Later in the show (aren't you sorry you missed it?) Brand apologized—kinda, sorta:  "I love the Jonas Brothers, I think it's (purity) really good.  I don't want to piss off teenage fans...Promise rings, I'm well up for it, well done everyone...It's just, a bit of sex occasionally never hurt anybody."

Ironically, one could reasonably view this as Hollywood's version of this nation's ongoing and tiresome debate about abstinence and contraception.  Too many continue to pit these two approaches as competing strategies when, of course, they are complimentary strategies. 

Friends, virgin and slut are false dichotomies. Russell Brand and Jordin Sparks; a pox on both your houses.