A Letter to MTV - or really just a vent

Dear MTV,

Part of me misses the MTV you once were.  I was one of the kids who stayed up to watch you hit the air.  I loved being able to turn you and put faces to my favorite songs through all of the music videos that were actually played.  But the other part of me realizes that part of you is gone.  You have sold your soul to reality programming - that's oddly enough, scripted and/or staged in most cases.  And that part of me is angry.

Through the years, the programming has progressively gotten worse.  I will be the first to admit that I was excited when I heard about "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom".  I know through the work I've done over the years that a lot of kids who end up caught in the cross-generational time warp of parenthood while still being parented haven't had "the talk".  Some parents mention sex here and there.  Some leave it to the schools.  Some do nothing at all.  I thought that the potential for these shows could be a catalyst for opening dialogue for parents to connect and say, "I don't want that life for you, so let's talk." 

As seasons have passed, the shows had people talking - mostly bad.  They would say that the shows do nothing but glorify teen pregnancy.  And like a fool in love with that potential, I defended you.  I kept my hope afloat knowing that somewhere out there, someone was being helped.  Having been a teen mom myself, I wanted this to be the reality of your so-called reality show.  All of it was a farce.

As it stands, the girls on your show are a mix of characters - either the detective looking for clues to find their path or the trainwreck who no longer needs clues because they're such a mangled mess.  And while the girls on "!6 and Pregnant" are no exception, let's just face facts - they aren't a bigger pseudo-celebrities than the girls on "Teen Mom". 

From the first edition of "Teen Mom", we have to hand the "You are no role model" crown to Queen Farrah.  I felt sorry for her having to live with parenting a child who would never be able to meet her father.  Never mind the mess of parents (particularly her mother) that she had/has to deal with.  I was happy for her when I learned that she wanted to move away to go to school and follow her dream to be a chef.  But her show ended.  Her paycheck from you stopped.  And as of late, all of her attempts to stay relevant have revolved around a sex tape.  The story first went that it didn't exist.  Then it went to it didn't exist, but if it did, it was private video that her lawyer would be contacting people about.  And what do you know?  The video was planned, with a porn star as her counter and was sold for a ridiculous amount of money.  Did I mention that she's moved on to hocking diet pills to her followers on Twitter and everywhere else?  With all of the reports surrounding her eating only 500 calories per day, I don't think that she's a good representative to be preaching dieting - or maybe she is.

From the second edition of "Teen Mom", we have to hand the "You are no role model" crown to Queen Jenelle.  I also felt sorry for her in the beginning.  Her initial appearance showed a young mom who was going to forget going out and doing things to be with her child.  It was just lip service.  Jenelle has had her child taken from her.  She kept saying she was going to get him back, but she has done nothing to help do that.  In fact, every step she seems to take is to do the opposite.  She's been arrested, what seems like, a million times.  She's been on drugs.  She's been moving from place to place to place.  She's bounced from male to male to male - and then back through those few several times. And where is she now?  Out on bail from a heroin arrest.  I know.  You'll probably tell me that she's crying foul and that her junkie husband set her up.  But if history says anything, it says that she's a liar.

So here we are - parting ways.  I'm so disappointed.  I truly hoped that you would help to change the face of teen moms everywhere.  We aren't all stereotypes.  I know I'm not.  I graduated from college.  I have custody of all of my kids.  My household is financially stable.  I could go on and on.  But I suppose that I'll have to continue to live with the consequences of my actions, the actions of a plethora of other teen moms, and yours.  That's right.  I said your actions.  You exploited those girls instead of properly caring for them.  Like the show's potential went down the toilet, so did a few of their lives. 

Sincerely,

A Teen Mom in Reality*

*Yes, I know that I'm 37 now; however, the label teen mom doesn't just go away.  I always face the stares and hear the whispers.  Those never go away - or at least it seems.