“16 and Pregnant,” whose fourth season debuted last Tuesday, and its even more popular spin-offs, “Teen Mom” and “Teen Mom 2,” are a core part of MTV’s lineup, regularly drawing over 2 million viewers. Meanwhile, the show’s breakout stars, Amber Portwood, Jenelle Evans and Leah Messer, have become, if not quite household names, reliable tabloid fixtures. Gossip sites like TMZ document their many personal foibles — from divorce to drugs to domestic violence — alongside the latest sordid news about Whitney Houston or Rihanna.

While girls like Amber and Jenelle, who make a reported $65,000 per season of “Teen Mom,” don’t have bank accounts comparable to those of Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan, their patterns of impulsive, reckless behavior are not so different. Today’s celebrity culture thrives on the self-destructive antics of unstable young women; how they become famous is not as important as merely maintaining their fame through misbehavior. Reality starlets are an even brisker business than “real” celebrities: Their photos are cheaper, their lives less insulated by well-paid handlers and hangers-on.

(Source: thedailyfeed)