Teenage Pregnancy as a Societal Problem

TEENAGE PREGNANCY AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM

Submitted to
Dr. Gwenetha Pusta
University of Santo Tomas
Sampaloc, Manila

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Communication Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Letters

Bernabe, Christine Melissa M.
4CA1

Absentee parents
Absentee parents
Celebration of sex and pregnancy by the media
Celebration of sex and pregnancy by the media

Curiosity Curiosity
Uneducated about the consequences of sex
Uneducated about the consequences of sex

Early exposure to lascivious acts
Early exposure to lascivious acts
Pressure of taking the relationship to the “next level”

Pressure of taking the relationship to the “next level”

Peer pressure
Peer pressure Immaturity
Immaturity

Low self-esteem
Low self-esteem

TEENAGE PREGNANCY

Do you remember when you were a little girl and you were playing with your dolls and were very fond of fairytales and were feeling giddy about when your Prince Charming will come? Yes, we’ve all been through it. We’ve all been that little princess in a cute, puffy, pink dress, swirling gracefully around the room asking mom and dad how they met, what true love is and how you were born. But what happens when our Prince Charming came too early, that little girl became a big girl too fast, innocence became lost in this big, mean world that is distant from the kingdom in a land far, far away and you never got the happily-ever-after that you so imagined in your head?

Celebration of sex and pregnancy by the media In this day and age, teens have become too dependent to technology that they never really get the chance to experience life as it really is. They spend most of their day sending text messages to their friends, holding that controller and playing computer games, or having their eyes glued to the television screens watching Serena Van Der Woodsen or Aria Montgomery in their favorite teen dramas. But what if these television programs, or even movies, that they are spending countless hours watching are sending the wrong messages to them subconsciously that they would not even notice that they too are adapting the kind of culture, morals and ideas that these female protagonists have? The issue here is that most of the teen dramas that are very popular to the teenagers today have incorporated kissing, or even engaging in sexual intercourse as if it is not a big deal and as if it is a casual, natural action between two teenagers with no considerations of the consequences whatsoever. Another problem with the treatment of the media with sexuality and pre-marital sex is that they present it in a manner that, if shown to adolescents, would seem “cool” or the thing to do to become popular. Anyone who is observant enough of the way sex is treated in teen dramas and “chick flicks” would notice that media really is celebrating and sugar-coating it, making it seem like the one who gives up her virginity the earliest is the coolest, hottest and most popular girl.

Absentee parents When parents are not around much, the teens would most likely turn to their friends for support, attention and learning about the twists and turns of life. There’s nothing wrong with seeking advice from friends, but what the adolescents do not realize is that their friends are also still young – and they still do not have the wisdom and maturity that comes with age to be giving directions and “suggestions”. It should be their parents they are talking to about such things. Yes, it may be awkward and uncomfortable for both parties, but that is where the frequency of spending time together would come in. If the parents do not have time to listen about how their children’s day went, to talk about how theirs went and to just have the time to establish a good, comfortable and open relationship between them, then their children would most probably feel the need to seek attention somewhere else. The children would go out into the world, unequipped about the realities of adult life. They would soon learn those things from the wrong sources, and sometimes, even the hard way, when they are already subject into that situation, with nothing and no one else to turn to. The problem with this is if the teenagers do not have a good judgment in character, they would most likely be led into the wrong direction. And the problem with teenagers these days is if they feel like they are already in the position wherein they have no other choice, they would just decide on going into the easy means of “entertainment”, which in this case, is to be “adventurous” and try “new things”.

Curiosity This would then lead to the teens becoming curious and wondering about what sex really is and why everyone is doing it. They would hear it in the whispers from the girls from the in-crowd in the hallways. They would see the boys exchanging high-fives and fist bumps when conversing about “who did who”, “where they did it” and “how many dates it took them to get to what base”. The innocent and curious teen would then notice that those who are having these kinds of “fun” are the popular kids – those who have the say on what is hot and what is not in this school, if not in this community. And when they finally get home, they would look in the mirror and start asking themselves, “Hey! Everyone, who is anyone, is doing it. Why can’t I join the ‘fun’? Why am I the only one who can’t get to do it?”

Early exposure to lascivious acts With the advent of technology, computer users have become more aware of what is currently happening even on the other side of the world. This has been made way easier and possible with the creation of the Internet. The Internet then gave birth to the different social networking sites, such as Friendster, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, and these social networking sites exposed the adolescents into “what is out there.’ And when their access is not monitored, they would most of the time stumble upon images or even pornographic videos. Subconsciously, they would become exposed enough to sex for them to think that sexual intercourse is not a big deal, therefore, committing pre-marital sex.
Pressure of taking the relationship to the “next level” Teens, especially the girls would want to guarantee that their partner would never leave them, and in the minds of boys with twisted, distorted principles and values, the “ultimate proof” of a girlfriend’s love is to have sex with him – or in the kids’ language today – “sleep” with him. The partner would establish their dominance over the other by creating instability with the other’s ego that they “would never find another” that will “love and appreciate” them as much. Sometimes, they would even say that through engaging in sex with their partner would “bring them closer” to each other and make their relationship “stronger”. This would then force the other to “give in” and engage in pre-marital sex just to gain that security that was committed to them, which is most of the time, false.

Peer pressure In line with this thought, they would always consult their friends with what’s “hip” and what’s “cool” that they would often find themselves taking whatever their friends are telling them as the “gospel truth”. They would no longer feel the need to filter out the information they get from their friends because those are their friends and they trust each other enough to know that what they say to each other is “true”. Now that they do not question the facts from their friends anymore, they would be more prone and susceptible to give in to peer pressure. “Go on, just try it.” is just one of the common phrases teenagers nowadays hear from their friends. Whether their friends have good intentions or not is another question – but the fact that their friends have the power to control their thoughts and to bend their principles is terrible. Because the idea came from their friends, they would think that it would cause no harm. “It’s JUST virginity. It’s no big deal. What harm can one night of fun do?” is what they would often tell themselves.

Immaturity Teenagers of this generation deal with sexual intercourse very immaturely. They think that because it is something pleasurable, it can then be enjoyed in an absolute manner. They do not think twice about engaging in this act because they are more concerned about their bodily needs, which means they would rather give in with the physical and sexual desires of their bodies which they would enjoy for only a moment of time, without considering the result of this action. And when they are not emotionally, mentally and physical developed and ready to have a family, it would most likely result into a very problematic family life, and their children would not grow into a happy and loving world.

Low Self-esteem Again, some girls in this age with very low self-esteem would always find security in what their boyfriends, friends, classmates - and in extreme cases, even strangers think of them. It is as if the “approval” of these people of what they look like and how they are would complete them. When an individual is very insecure about her looks, of competence, they are at a very high risk of doing anything and everything just because they are looking for attention, approval and appreciation to compensate what they are feeling about themselves. Most of the time, this search goes overboard onto the point that is already dangerous. They want to be supermodel thin, and so they skip meals and sometimes even force themselves to vomit. They want to be told that they are beautiful, and so they pile on their faces gunk called make-up. They want to be the hottest, most sought-after girl in their school, and so they go around flirting with all the boys and sometimes, even sleeping with them, unaware of the problems they are getting into just because they want to feel accepted.

Uneducated about the consequences of sex And because teenagers have raging hormones, when these are paired with a curious mind and experimenting bodies, they would be most likely entertaining the idea of having sex without second thoughts and without prior knowledge of the consequences following their careless actions. They do not acknowledge that pro-creation is the true purpose of intercourse. Because they are careless and impulsive, they only think about what would give them pleasure for this moment, without considering the mistake and effects they would have on each other’s lives, and of course, their own.

All of these factors contributing to the result of an early, and most of the time, unwanted pregnancy are interrelated. They are both causes and effects of each other, and each of them branch out from and to another. In this writer’s opinion, this is a social problem that would only be lessened, if not eradicated, when the youth of this generation would be raised by their parents, and would be exposed to the proper and suitable environment for them to grow up into the mature men and women they should be.