Tuesdays at seven o’clock central on ABC Family, 6.5 million viewers sit down to watch The Secret Life of the American Teenager. A part of that sum comes from Neuqua teens. While the acting is less than spectacular, the content of a fifteen year-old pregnant girl is alluring to teens these days. Television has come a long way, from two separate beds for married couples, to sex scenes. Now this is not meant to rag on The Secret Life, it is not the only show with questionable moral issues. Many popular shows like Gossip Girl, Real World, Greek, and Tila Tequila are filled with the same content. It seems as long as a show has sex scenes or alcohol usage in them, it is guaranteed success, no matter how poor the plot or acting is.
With the way some Neuqua teens walk around school with very “natural” skin tones, fried straight hair, skimpy clothes, designer purses on arm, and purposefully creating drama, students think that those shows are the way the real world is. Hate to say this, but it is not. Mommy or Daddy will not always be there with their money. Reality can bite back when teen’s unlimited funds run out. If this is the future of society, polar bears and saving the whales will be the last of humanities concerns. Not only Neuqua teens, but all teens should stop trying to mimic his or her lives after popular television shows. Pictures with cigarettes and a beer at hand on Facebook will not help with that job application. Do not even try to use the disgruntled teen out to seek revenge on parents; it ends up hurting the future more than the parents. And please have more self-confidence than asking around loudly for a lighter while walking from school to the beloved skate park, as you tuck your cigarette behind your ear, it does not make you look cool.
Now not all Neuqua teens act this way, or maybe it is and the only exceptions are the few goody goodies, but that’s doubtful, there are many students who think of their future and see their actions in a long-term perspective. This is really original, but Neuqua teens need to make good choices. Realize that the Neuqua bubble is a privilege not a right. Kids who cannot recognize this will not make it very far in the real world. Come on Neuqua let’s have the confidence to make our own decisions, and not let the television make them for us.
By Kelsy Ensign, Echo staff writer
