Should schools replace sex education/health with MTV?

Normally, I’d consider this question insane, but after a recent study by the Brookings Institute, I’m not so sure. That study found that MTV’s “Teen Mom”, and “16 And Pregnant” caused a 5.7% drop in the total US teen pregnancy rate.

The Brookings Institute made an awesome video to explain how this is possible.


[Tweet “MTV managed to lower the US teen pregnancy rate by 6%! #bigdata #MTV”]

And that’s not all…

Using Google search data, the Brookings Institute also found that whenever an episode of “Teen Mom”, or “16 And Pregnant” aired, search results for birth-control pills, and abortions spiked – specifically questions about obtaining birth control.

By creating something interesting, and not focussing on the message, MTV has accidentally stumbled upon a formula for teaching teens about what not to do. The question is, can this model be applied to other social taboos, like drug and alcohol abuse?