There are a lot of things in the media today that people get hyped up about. For example, Jersey Shore, who Taylor Swift is dating, vampires, werewolves and Teen Mom.

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Associated Press/MTV

In this image from video released by MTV, teen mother Maci is shown with her son Bentley in a scene from the teen reality series, "Teen Mom."

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I’d be lying if I told you that I don’t pay close attention to any of these things. I don’t fist pump like a champ, but I am kind of obsessed with Teen Mom, like a lot of other teenagers and adults are who watch the show. My mom even watches it sometimes.

But why is there such a passion for the show? I don’t have any connections with the show. I’m not pregnant; I don’t have a baby and don’t plan on having one for a long time. So why am I, and an average of 2.4 million per-show viewers, following the lives of these teenage girls and their babies so intensely?

I think what people need to realize is that a lot of people don’t watch the show because they are going through the same situation. Some don’t even think that it’s a good quality subject or topic to be on television. At second glance, some teens have changed their minds about the show.

When Greenbrier High School senior Anna Baldowski first saw the previews for the show, she initially thought that “it was sort of odd that MTV wanted to flaunt teen pregnancy and show it off.” Nevertheless, she is an avid watcher of the show, and thinks that it does a good job at showing what many teens are actually experiencing in the world today.

I couldn’t agree more. Unlike the Real World and Flavor of Love, this seems to be a true and in-your-face reality show that lets everyone who is peeking through the window see what actually goes on inside the home of a teenage mom.

Evans High School senior Evan Ansley got his first taste of Teen Mom while watching it with his girlfriend. He has only watched one episode but he saw great potential in that one episode for MTV to advocate abstinence to teens.

However, some don’t see such a silver lining in this show. Some students like Greenbrier High School sophomore Mary Baker believe that the show is terrible because it gets so much attention for its topic. A common opinion is that Teen Mom demoralizes America and shows just how off track we are.

Evan simply thinks that Teen Mom sheds a light on America’s problem with premarital sex. People don’t watch the show and think that the life of a pregnant or teenage mom is a fabulous one, and people who criticize Teen Mom need to realize this.

Teen pregnancy is a real issue that can’t just be ignored: according to the March of Dimes Foundation’s web site, four in 100 teenage girls had a baby in 2007. This isn’t an issue that can be kept in the dark. Maybe shows like Teen Mom will make both girl and boy teenagers more cautious and aware of their actions.

Teen Board Member Suzanne Ozturk is a senior at Evans High School