More of a Bad Thing Is...Good?

A friend of mine urged me to watch Teen Mom 2.  Having seen some episodes of the original Teen Mom, I was definitely hesitant.  But the Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant series are praised as cautionary tales against teen sex, so maybe there's some merit to these shows?  No.  Like many reality shows, the attraction to Teen Mom 2, and it's popularity, is being able to watch people that are worse off than you and make fun of them in the anonymity of your own home.  If you think about it, it's actually quite depressing that these teens have to grow up so fast and be role models for their own children.  What makes things even worse is that the fathers of these babies rarely stick around.  So these teens girls, and often their parents, are stuck with the bulk of the responsibility of raising these babies alone.  Not cool.

Basically, this show is not for me.  I don't enjoy reveling in others' hardships.  That's not to say that everyone who watches this show watches to feel better about themselves in comparison to these teens; this is just how I view this particular show, and many others like it.  If I want to watch a reality show, I'll stick to Millionaire Matchmaker and Top Chef.