Wednesday, March 6, 2013

NYC shames teen parents to battle unplanned pregnancy


It seems that scaring and shaming people just won't go out of style in social marketing, no matter how much research proves it's ineffective.

These ads are from NYC's Human Resources Administration, and they feature "with hard-hitting facts about the money and time costs of parenting, and the negative consequences of having a child before you are ready".


Think Progress points out that New York's mandatory comprehensive sex ed curriculum, as well as better teen access to contraception, have seen the teen pregnancy rate drop by 27 percent over the past decade. But they compare this campaign to abstinence-only education, "a misguided approach to sexual education that teaches adolescents to be ashamed of their bodies, rather than equipping young people with the tools they need to safeguard their health" and expect that the campaign by itself will be no more effective.


But worse, the negativity heaped on kids born to teen moms is unconscionable. Just because the statistics are there, doesn't mean you have to be so insensitive to real children and their parents.


This one, however, has the right positive message (in the headline, at least):


Why couldn't the whole campaign have taken this route?

1 comment:

  1. Here we go again... Did you write this piece before or after Copycrank did the same? The only shameful thing about this campaign is the use of children that don't quite look like the children of most pregnant teens, especially in New York... if you catch my drift. There is nothing shameful about sharing FACTS. Isn't it a fact that daddy most likely won't stay with mommy? Isn't it a fact that daddy will have to pay child support? And what do you mean "the negativity heaped on kids born to teen moms is unconscionable"? Are you suggesting that these ads are targeting those kids? Because I clearly see that the ads are addressed to moms and dads.


    Whatever the route is (whether the message is positive or negative), nothing will stop teen pregnancy! This is an issue that needs to be addressed at home. Unfortunately, many of these teens get little, if any, family support, and sometimes even the parents themselves are irresponsible. If teens won't listen to their parents, I don't think they will listen to strangers.

    My only issue with this campaign is that it's a huge waste of money, like all the other similar campaign done previously. Did they use taxpayers money for this nonsense?

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