Between a one-hour commute to and from work and a 40-hour-a-week internship at a solar thermal panel manufacturer, my summer was far from action packed. I had little fun and a lot of responsibility. So I must thank MTV for Tuesday: ‘Teen Mom,’ Wednesday: ‘The Real World,’ and Thursday: ‘The Jersey Shore.’ Summer 2k10 may not have given me many adventures, but at least MTV gave me one sweet weekday lineup.

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m an MTV junkie. I get it from my dad, who has been a loyal ‘Real World’ viewer since the series premiere in 1992. In fact, every Tuesday to Thursday summer night, we’d plop down on the couch for an hour of entertainment.

We would comment on Amber and Gary’s love struggle, cringe at Ryan’s lying habits and laugh at the antics of the cast of ‘The Jersey Shore.’ Even though school has started and my dad and I are approximately 3,000 miles away from each other, we still make sure to keep each other updated with our opinions about the shows via phone calls, e-mails, text messages — you get the drift.

Even though I consider watching MTV with my dad normal, a lot of people are perplexed by our weekly routine. In fact, when I called my dad last week to remind him a new episode of ‘The Jersey Shore’ was airing before the VMAs, my friend overheard our conversation and confronted me about the so-called weirdness.

I told her MTV reality shows are not only our bonding time, but a platform for discussion. In addition, the shows can be used as educational tools, and thus I believe more parents should take the time to watch these shows with their teens and young adults.

Take ‘Teen Mom,’ for example. Since the show’s spinoff aired in 2009, there have been many arguments that ‘Teen Mom’ is glorifying teen pregnancy. However, most critics with that argument probably have not watched the show. The life of a teen mom is far from glamorous. Not only does the show’s theme scream, ‘Have protected sex, raising a kid is no walk in the park,’ it also offers financial and baby-raising lessons.

In one episode, one of the show’s moms, Farrah, got swindled out of $3,000. My dad and I were sitting on the couch shouting, ‘You’re an idiot,’ as she wired her own money to a fake account after an online scam. Farrah’s mistake reinforced the lesson that it’s important to be careful with online orders — a lesson my dad has told me about, but one that became more slated with a real-life example.

Furthermore, the difficulties of adoption, child support and working while raising a child are shown. As a child of a young mom, I am all too familiar with ‘the parking lot pass off.’ Topics like a parent’s divorce are hard to bring up, but because MTV shows the hardships of separation, the shows serve as platforms for discussion. I was able to find a doorway to talk to my dad about what it was like for him to raise a kid and go through a breakup. Our conversations led me to some major insights about my family and a stronger appreciation for my childhood.

Even if your childhood was more picturesque than those of Bentley, Sophia, Leah or Carly, ‘Teen Mom’ can help break the taboo of having ‘those’ conversations with your parents. So before you criticize the teen moms and call them fame whores, perhaps take a second to appreciate them. The blogosphere has been going wild with disapproval of the ‘Teen Mom’ cover stories on Us Weekly and People magazine, but I say let the teen moms receive some payment in exchange for offering life lessons. As evidenced by their financial situations featured on the show, all of them are struggling to make ends meet with the help of little, if any, stipend from MTV. They are allowing their lives to be taped in hopes that people can learn from them.

Also, watch MTV with your dad. However, be aware that if he doesn’t like your own nose ring, he’ll take no time bashing the nose ring of the girl in ‘True Life: I Hate My Face’ in front of you.

Amanda Abbott is a junior geography and IST major. She is the assistant opinion editor at The Daily Orange, where her column appears occasionally. She can be reached at aeabbott@syr.edu.

 

Published on September 20, 2010 at 12:00 pm