Perched for Delivery

Today the drama ensues over the young ladies from Gloucouster, MA, who decided to all find a way to give birth to children, all within months of each other. These 17 sophomore girls who created a "pregnancy pact", have garnered international attention, turning the home of the frozen food industry into a media rich feeding ground. The new found fame of these youthful mothers-to-be has stumped the professionals in the psychology field: Why did they do it? What are the motives of these teenagers? Was it for the undying love of a child? Was it for the companionship and camaradire of expectant mothers? Was it because of a lack of morals, or better yet, an erosion of societal values that used to stigmatize teen pregnancy? Is it the trickle-down effect of celebrities that now have made out-of wedlock births common place and suddenly chic? Or is it just the non-chalance of parents who are out of sync with the adolecent mind?



The events in this fishing town have spawned a new debate over American family values. Is there a more interesting time to discuss the new American teenager?



Evolving in the midst of telecommunication technological revolution, the teenage person is now impacted by the new social networking tools: Facebook, Beebo, and a plethora of others that connect kids alot differently than the malt shop of the '50's. The more isolated physical world is now replaced by an ever expanding virtual one, where the imagination can lead to the surreal decisonmaking of youthful exuberence. Parents are more careful to be restrictive of a teenagers movements, with so many children being reported missing. While technology, namely cellphones are used to try to keep up with teens, they have also given rise to a world where thoughts and words are sequesterd from actions. Ideas, separated from realities, are now the fancy of keystrokes-dandies of the mind.



While it isn't proven that these soon-to-be-mothers communicated in such a manner, it is likely that they communicated at some point through texting or email. It is also likely that the coolness of this idea of peer pregnancy, was tactitly supported by film, tv, or some other electronic medium. Shrinking from the innate beauty and the intricate complexities of daily life, teens are becoming more stimulated from fanciful thoughts in abstract realities.



Whether the experts eventualy agree about the causality of the pregnancy pact, the truth remains that the natural world is falling victim to a virtual one- where the tempered thought practically placed wanes before the uncharted possibility and the untested hope of an isolated mind. The new group think is now here: to personally be different, with your friends.