Get your baby bottles warmed and ready everyone, season three of MTV’s hit “16 and Pregnant” airs April 16.

The commercials for the upcoming premiere aired recently, and not only is teen pregnancy glamorized more than ever, but I think they’re even trying to make me feel bad for these girls.

Sorry, but when I was 16, I was worried about the SATs, not if my boyfriend would support my unborn child.

Teen pregnancy isn’t cool, and is “100 percent preventable,” according to the 10-second warning at the end of every show that I’m sure we all pay attention to.

More importantly, and specifically, this commercial is making the audience sympathize with these girls. You’re 16 and got pregnant. No, I don’t feel bad for you and no, I’m not sorry.

Talking about the struggles and obstacles that these girls face and seeing clips of their crying faces and yelling family members just seems like MTV is pulling out all the stops to grab the emotions of their viewers here. Unfortunately, their tactics work. I’m positive that the first episode will have great ratings, probably turning into a roommate night complete with ice cream or chips.

 

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I respect all of the young women that endure teen pregnancy and I understand it happens and is an issue that needs to be addressed. But most of these women go through the necessary process when it comes to pregnancy, with their heads held high owning up to what’s in store for them, minus the camera crew and the inevitable infamy.

I don’t know what these girls are looking for when they’re on the show, besides humiliation. I really don’t get it. Why would you want to publicize that you’re having a baby before you graduate high school? Or even before you get a driver’s license? These “reality” shows are really messing with the sequence of life, and it’s not okay.

I started watching MTV in middle school, and of course picked up some “knowledge” about music videos and scandalous acts by celebrities, but nowhere in there was how to change a diaper, how to deal with someone not paying child support, or how to give a baby up for adoption like there is now. Young adults don’t need to be gaining this sort of knowledge, considering how impressionable girls are at this age. It’s the last thing they need to be watching, and especially sympathizing with.

The girls that do become pregnant and go about things in a respectable manner (without the drama with their boyfriends or the police) are the girls I sympathize for, not the ones that curse at their parents, throw back beers with a baby-bump, or continue to act like their life hasn’t changed. Unfortunately this show makes it hard for people to differentiate between the two: the girls that we should feel sorry for and the ones that don’t deserve any sympathy at all.