Katie wrote a post curiously asking "WHAT on EARTH is the obsession in the IF community with shows like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant?"
Oh Katie, if only I knew the answer to that question. What I do know is that I do watch both of those shows. (Toddlers and Tierra's is another guilty indulgence.) I don't know why I watch. I just know that I do. I record them on the dvr and watch them on the nights that I can't fall asleep, and sometimes on the weekends in the morning when I don't want to get out of bed.
I watched the entire first season of 16 and Pregnant the morning before I had to go to a good friends baby shower. I stayed curled up in bed until after the shower had started, watching tyler and caitlen choose adoption for their daughter, with a pillow wet from tears. (and then arrived late to the shower that I also left early from.) After watching Ashley's episode in the second season, I spent a whole day of Christmas break reading her blog.
I've thought long and hard about a response to Katie's question, and can't seem to come up with a good answer.
Maybe it is because these shows make me feel. Maybe because I live vicariously thru them. Maybe because I just want what they have so much. Maybe because they make me cry. Maybe because it reminds me that we all have our struggles and maybe because I feel like having a child when you are not ready is an ironically similar life crisis to being told that you can't have a child when you are ready.
Maybe these are reason why I watch, but none of them really seem very compelling. Most of the comments in response to Katie's post were from ladies who don't watch those shows, so I didn't get any clues there.
I know that I am not the only one who watches. Does anyone else have a better answer?
9 comments :
I sometimes watch 16 and pregnant - I'm sneaky about it though. Never when DH is around. Why? Dunno.
I adore Tyler and Caitlin - they make me happy and cry at the same time. The others...Eh, I honestly don't like their episodes as much, but I will watch them now and then.
Foxy, I agree that its about how the show makes me feel - sometimes I need an excuse to get irritated or mad or sad. This show lets me feel those emotions, but then I can shut off the tv and move on.
I totally agree with the situations not being that different. I've thought the same about the show "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant". I've only watched it a few times (back in the early days of trying) but recently I was thinking about how naive they lived their life, not knowing they were carrying a baby the whole time. Kinda like we naively thought it would only take a few months to get pregnant... I guess it goes to show that our plans don't always pan out!
On a side note- I now DVR Teen Mom 2 thanks to you posting about the show! ;)
I watch both these shows and I'm not sure if it has anything to do w/my IF experiences or if its just that i like reality shows.
I know they're on M*V and lots of people think that automatically means they're garbage, but honestly, I think they are really well done shows that provide an unflinchingly honest look at the challenges of teenage pregnancy and motherhood.
I think these two shows interst me b/c motherhood and pregnancy interest me. Sometimes the people in an episode make me feel mad & annoyed and sometimes they impress me. I like a show where every episode evokes strong emotions and makes me think.
I haven't seen these shows but we have similar shows in Britain. Only watched a few episodes but I can understand why so many like them. It's real people with real problems. And they are making drama that you react on right, so you kind of have to see the next episode to find out how it goes.. just my thoughts.
No better answer here but I watch them too :) I don't schedule my dvr for them but if I catch them on TV I could watch for hours.
I watch both these shows religiously. I've never known why (and the hubby always used to ask!) but I became addicted before I was pregnant and still battling IF and now I still watch them. Who knows!
Those shows totally pull me in. For me it feels like the story of a crisis in family building, but from the opposite side. The most moving one I saw was an MTV special"No Easy Decision" that focused specifically on abortion featuring Markai from 16 and pregnant who was pregnant a second time. It was so moving I cried.
I am a total addict to those shows, too. And I don't really know why. I think they are fun to watch - that's why I watch all of the shows I do - but I also think it's a bit of voyuerism on my part... I like seeing how the rest of the world does "it."
Happy ICLW!!
Speaking of Reality TV I caught this interesting NYT article that talks about the new obsession with the scary sides of motherhood, pregnancy, and parenting. They even claim teen pregnancy rates are down as a result.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/arts/television/23moms.html
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