Researchers believe that the show 16 and Pregnant significantly contributed to the current decrease in teen pregnancy in the U.S. The researchers observed that in towns in which teens were already watching MTV before 16 and Pregnant began airing, the teen pregnancy rate significantly dropped.

If causative, can this model be used to affect other social ills? Also, what does this say about the impact of intentionally or unintentionally glorified negative images in the media such as drug culture and violence?

Given the increased viewing options of today can this model be replicated? It is suspected that a lot of viewing media ex. Youtube, snapchat, etc. especially among younger viewers is much shorter than the typical t.v. shows of previous years. Therefore, given this shorter timespan, can the messages be as effective? How can longer media be put in front of the eyes of younger viewers? What media platforms so they watch this type of content on?

Original draft written in July 2017.

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