For those of you who may have thought I painted an unfair picture of adolescent boys in this recent post, Irrefutable Proof that Adolescent Boys Rule the World, I’d like to balance out the scales a little and talk about teenage girls.
A recent government study surveyed thousands of teenage moms about that whole complicated getting pregnant thing. The survey reveals that about half of the girls were not using birth control when they got pregnant, mostly because they just didn’t believe they would get pregnant.
I know lots of teenage girls who are smart, savvy and responsible, but there is no shortage of those who are hopeless immature well into early adulthood (and beyond, but let’s not go there). Biologically, the part of their brains responsible for making good rational decisions just hasn’t fully developed yet. They still engage in magical thinking, ignoring inconvenient facts* and instead making decisions based upon what they want to do because they want to do it.
You need go no further than your TV to confirm this phenomenon. Yes, a single episode of MTV’s Teen Mom will provide irrefutable proof that some teenage girls repeatedly make inexplicably stupid decisions, especially when it comes to their baby daddy, who may be an a**hole, but whom they nonetheless love, except when they are seething with hatred for him. Of course, let’s give them a little credit too; it’s not easy finding time to care for your Blissful Bundle of Consequences when you’re so busy crying, texting, screaming at your parents and getting arrested.
The only surprising thing about this study was a comment by one of its authors, a CDC senior scientist, who said, “I think what surprised us was the extent that they were not using contraception.” Really? You found that surprising? Are you kidding me?
*(Not to be confused with politicians, who also tend to ignore inconvenient facts.)
January 20, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Thanks for a Friday treat – your rye sense of humour never fails to put a smile on my face.
January 20, 2012 at 4:21 pm
You’re welcome & thank you kindly for the lovely compliment : )
January 20, 2012 at 3:19 pm
The kids on that reality show are paid a big salary (could that be child abuse?).
January 20, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Well, they probably need that money for cell phone bills, bail, and maybe diapers.
January 20, 2012 at 4:44 pm
I joke about Toddlers & Tiaras, but I truly cannot bring myself to watch this show. It makes me angry every time I see ads for it, and spot some of the lowest forms of tabloids at the supermarket who glorify these stupid girls.
I’m with philosophermouse – these girls are basically paid to have those poor babies. Because of that show, you just KNOW that 16-year-olds around the country are thinking “That could be me, if I could just pop out a kid.”
I’m so glad that our tax dollars go to fund sex education for kindergartners, because obviously, only by knowing how to pleasure themselves with household appliances at a young age can we prevent sexually transmitted disease and unplanned pregnancy. Wait a minute..this just in..that hasn’t happened! What a surprise.
January 20, 2012 at 4:55 pm
That’s funny because I can watch Teen Mom, but Toddlers & Tiaras makes me cringe, shout and start dialing child protective services! The good news, however, is that teen pregnancy rates have actually decreased.
January 20, 2012 at 6:40 pm
I can’t bring myself to watch any of it. Your last sentence in your next to the last paragraph, kind of does it for me, as in…does me in. You speak the woeful truth humorously.
January 20, 2012 at 8:09 pm
Oh, I understand – no need to watch – I’ll let you know if anything important ever happens ; )
January 20, 2012 at 10:41 pm
I hate those shows. My apologies, too, I know ‘hate’ is a strong word. Ugh.
January 20, 2012 at 10:45 pm
Sometimes “hate” is a perfectly appropriate word choice ; )
January 21, 2012 at 1:36 am
MTV has got to be the biggest douchebag TV station out there. There is absolutely nothing, zero, nada, of any value televised there. Sad, as it was arguably a groundbreaking station in the early days of cable TV.
January 21, 2012 at 1:04 pm
It was groundbreaking. Sad that it’s now so pathetic.
January 21, 2012 at 1:56 am
I was just reading that news story this morning. It is good news that the rate has decreased, but the story of teen pregnancy doesn’t seem to change over time, does it?
January 21, 2012 at 1:04 pm
So true. Those poor babies (I mean the babies, not the teen moms!)
January 23, 2012 at 2:29 am
You know, I get that trash TV is “in” right now, and people love watching it. I might be an above-average offender. Just look at “Jersey Shore” (love it!). But, the study you’re talking about? I find that disturbing. Where I grew up, this kind of thing (teen mom, etc.) wasn’t an all too common occurrence (thankfully), though I’m sure it happened occasionally. Anyway, you’re all too right about this post – that senior scientist shouldn’t be surprised, but it’s a relief to me that at least SOMEONE finds this behavior astonishing, rather than promoting it with TV.
January 23, 2012 at 10:44 am
I don’t remember very many teen moms when I was in h.s. either, but I was probably just oblivious. The good news is that teen pregnancy rates have gone down, though you’d never know it by watching MTV!
January 25, 2012 at 1:27 pm
Yes, politicians also engage in magical thinking! It’s frightening to think what my girls might get into when they are teenagers.
I comfort myself by saying that bad things are never as widespread as anything on TV makes them seem. Although teenagers engage in frightening behavior, I don’t believe that the stupidity is as inevitable as we are led to believe.
Then again, I may just be engaging in magical thinking.
January 25, 2012 at 2:04 pm
I have two teenagers and I assure you, stupidity and bad behavior is not inevitable (unless, of course, we’re talking politics).
January 25, 2012 at 11:56 pm
There’s a lot of big girls that don’t know how to use birth control too…
January 26, 2012 at 10:46 am
Oh, sooooo true!! Funny, but not funny : /