‘Teen Mom’ skews views of teen pregnancy

For some teenagers, reality TV may be more than mindless entertainment.

A new IU research study revealed frequent viewers of MTV shows “Teen Mom 2” and “16 and Pregnant” were more likely to believe teen mothers have an “enviable quality of life.”

Teens who perceived reality television as realistic were most likely to believe this, according to the press release.

Authored by Nicole Martins, assistant professor of telecommunications at IU, and Robin Jensen, assistant professor of communications at the University of Utah, the paper will be published in the journal Mass Communication and Society.

Stars of “Teen Mom” are estimated to receive more than $60,000 for the show, almost 10 times the average annual income of $6,500 for real-life teen mothers.

The discrepancy affects the way frequent viewers imagine the life of a teen mom.

“Heavy viewers of teen mom reality programs were more likely to think that teen moms have a lot of time to themselves, can easily find child care so that they can go to work or school and can complete high school than were lighter viewers of such shows,” Martins and Jensen wrote.

Both shows have been criticized for portraying a glamorized view of teen pregnancy or advocating risky sexual behavior.

A 2012 study of “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” by Paul Wright, an assistant professor of telecommunications at IU, researched how family background influences the way young women perceive these shows.

Wright and his co-authors found frequent viewing of these shows, combined with fathers who did not talk to their daughters about sex, increased “pregnancy-risk behavior” in these women.

Whereas Wright’s study focused on college-aged women, students in Martins and Jensen’s study were 185 high school-aged young men and women.

Martins and Jensen selected participants for the study from schools whose demographics matched the national average — a $52,000 median annual household income and an 80 percent white population.

More young women than men watched the show, but exposure to the shows affected them similarly, according to the press release.

The fame and celebrity of some teen mothers may cause a longer-lasting impression in teens than any hardships depicted on-screen.

“As you study reality television with younger populations, you’re going to find that younger children are going to have a harder time understanding that this is something that is scripted, edited and put together in a purposeful way to create a narrative and a drama,” Martins said in a press release.

Follow reporter Katelyn Thacker on Twitter @katelynthacker