All over social media platforms there are various posts about teen pregnancies and ‘baby fever.’ These posts claim to spread awareness but they also continue to glamorize having a baby young. Teen pregnancies happen all the time, whether planned or not. And it is important to spread awareness because many adolescent mothers' bodies were not prepared to have children. This leads me to my topic question; is posting online about teen pregnancy raising awareness or glamorizing it?
A study done by Kimemia & Mugambi in 2016 shows that social media is one of the biggest reasons that teen pregnancy rates have been rising in the last couple of years. Posts about ‘baby fever’ are another factor that is found in some young mothers' reasons for getting pregnant. When adolescent mothers become pregnant their body is not ready to become pregnant. And this leads to complications and even death at birth. According to the World Statistics an average of 41.9 out of 1000, 4.19%, adolescent girls become mothers between the ages 15-19. 1.5 out of 1000 younger adolescent girls become mothers between the ages 10-14. However since 2000, there has been a decline in the percent of adolescent mothers globally.
It is very important to spread awareness for teen pregnancy because it can happen to anyone. Adolescent mothers experience many health concerns during and after pregnancy. The posts that people make online about teen pregnancy are seen as funny and #relatable. Often glamorizing the idea of having a baby in your teens.
In my opinion, social media posts about teen pregnancy tend to glamorize the idea of having kids in your teens. There are the occasional posts spreading awareness but the majority of them glamorize it. And the comments aren’t much better. It important to spread awareness about something that effects many teens all over the world.
Gonchar, Michael. “Over 1000 Writing Prompts for Students.” The New York Times, 12 April 2018,https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/learning/over-1000-writing-prompts-for-students.html
World Health Organization. (19 May 2023). World health statistics 2023: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240074323
I really liked how you were analyzing the term "baby fever" and explaining how many adolescents get it even though their body isn't really ready to give birth. You also included a good study to use statistics to back up your opinion. I also completely agree that teen pregnancy is glamorized in media.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your critical view of teen-pregnancy in social media. I've also encountered a lot of posts about "baby fever", some with intentions to spread awareness (which I also find has an undertone of glamorization) and some that document teen-pregnancy experiences in a way that's unrealistic. It's not representative of the real issue. Good job!
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