Pledge To End Poor Programming

I am often disappointed by the programing that is not only available, but is popular today. I see shows that, while occasionally showing the downsides of being a teen mother, don't often actually depict the reality. Shows like "Teen Mom", for example, that normalize teen pregnancy and put their young stars in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. I also see shows with even younger children parading around in bikini's and makeup like "Dance Moms" and "Toddlers and Tiaras". These shows sexualize children and encourage growing up way too fast. A recent episode of "Dance Moms" involved a routine where girls as young as 8 were instructed to wear nude costumes so as to appear naked for a burlesque style dance. Obviously, this made the girls uncomfortable, but their parents didn't seem to mind much and then they were all so excited. Disgusting. These shows are all popular but their are shows that have even more notoriety. "The Jersey Shore" for example, glorifies getting drunk and hooking up with random strangers. The show is so popular that Snookie was a top Halloween costume among teens and 20 somethings. Though she may be lovely in real life, you can't tell from the show. My 10 year old neighbor watches religiously as do many of his friends. He's constantly talking about "grenades" and "getting it in". How charming. Now, I believe in free speech and any program with legal content should have the right to air, but I don't think we need to watch them. I don't, I won't and I hope you'll reconsider what you watch because our pop culture programming is certainly not sending any positive messages. Pledge to stop watching shows that glorify, encourage or normalize inappropriate behavior concerning young people. Maybe producers will even create better programming if shows like this are not being watched.