iMaGeS

The other day my cute little niece ran up to me, very excited to tell me about a favorite new TV show she'd been watching.

"Zoey 101 is soooooooooooooooo cool!" she told me.

I knew I'd heard about that show somewhere but couldn't quite place it, so as soon as I got home I googled it. I'm sure you've heard of it too - it's that teeny bopper show featuring none other than Jamie Lynn Spears, Brittany's younger sister.

Though I've never watched it, I'm sure the show itself is fine. It's the actress I have a problem with. Or, rather, the fact that she's a young, teenage mother in the public eye. I am not denouncing teenage pregnancies, because I know many wonderful moms who had babies at a very young age. It's simply not something that every young girl is cut out for, and I don't feel it should be "glorified" by the media.

Since Ms. Spears delivered her baby girl, she's graced the cover of dozens of magazines across the country. Articles quote her gushing about how much she loves being a mom and how it's so great and wonderful undoubtedly sending the message to some youngsters that parenthood is all fun and games. In reality, parenting is hard. Really, really hard. She's sending the wrong message. Period.

She's not the first young, teenage superstar to find herself in this situation and she won't be the last. It's simply depressing to think that this is the image my nieces are seeing.

Celebrities in general seem to have lost their moral compasses in the last few years. Just look at the alarming number of celebrity couples - Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie, Keith Urban/Nicole Kidman - who have children together but are not married.

Again, this is something that has been glorified by the media. The Los Angeles Times recently published an article entitled Hollywood's unwed parents club while Forbes.com writes "living together makes more sense than marriage."

I recognize that marriage isn't for everyone and that for some couples, it really does make more sense to live together and, perhaps, even have children together without marriage. All I'm saying is that this crud should be kept out of the limelight; it shouldn't be something that is played up by newspapers, TV, and magazines as "a new trend in parenthood."

On the other hand, I don't believe that couples should be "forced" into marriage simply because they have a baby. I've seen too many relationships crumble under that stress and wouldn't wish it on anyone. I guess, I just really have a problem with the fact that my young nieces and nephews (and some day my own children) gain so much cultural experience through television. I wonder if these celebrities can even fathom how influential they are. They're suposed to be role models, but lately all I've seen are perfect examples of how our society shouldn't be.