Critiquing Internet Sources on Teen Pregnancy

GEN 499 General Education Capstone

September 16, 2013

Introduction
The advancement in technology has made online information available to many people within a

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short time. However, it has come with challenges, which needs addressing in order to verify their
reliability and accuracy. As more people get access to internet sources in relaying information,
they are misled since they do not know the authenticity of the information. This poses danger to
readers as they lack the ability to verify the information.
Critiques Blog
In his blog, Memmott (2013) argues that teen pregnancies continue to decline across all nations.
This is because of the drops in births among Hispanic teens. Similarly, the blogger argues that
the rate of birth among teens has declined to half of what it used to be. It is a practical way to
report a decline in case the current number is below the initial figure. Although there is a slight
drop in the number of teen pregnancies, the blogger showed bias in generalizing the findings.
The reduced birth rate among Hispanic teens does not provide sufficient information to
generalize.
However, the information is valid because it came from a reliable source, government statistics.
The blogger did not use his information but rather reported already available information. This
gives it validity because it came from a reliable source where there can be verification of
information. Similarly, this information applies in making necessary adjustment in dealing with a
teen pregnancy. For instance, the information on the drop of teen pregnancies can be essential in
strengthening institutions to deal with by sharing the lessons learnt.
Video
In the video, Teenage Pregnancy by Kevin Sims (2012), features a collection of interviews
from four people who have dealt with and still dealing with pregnant teenagers. They talk of their

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experience dealing with pregnant teenagers and all that they go through. Similarly, the video
talks about the experience of a teenager who is pregnant. They do not like to repeat the same
feelings they went through during the pregnancy. Despite the interview being extensive, there
were cases of bias among the interviewees. For instance, one of the interviewees was reserved in
telling the exact facts on how she felt about being pregnant. She exaggerated the facts hence
limiting the validity of the information.
The information from the interviewees in the video is not valid because they did not observe the
accuracy of the information. It is impossible for someone to talk freely about his or her
experience, as it is difficult to relive painful memories. This interferes with the validity as they
also report bias. Despite all these, there can be applicability of the information in the video in
getting insight of teenage pregnancy experience. There is useful information that parents and
teachers can use in cautioning their young ones against indulging in teenage pregnancies. This is
mostly from those teenagers who spoke freely during the interview.
Podcast
In a pod cast posted by World Health Organization (2009), it talks about health and social
problems that teenage pregnancy causes. Some of the implications of teenage pregnancies
pointed out include dropping out of social networks, social exclusion, looking after the baby,
painful delivery and economic challenges among others. There are cases of bias in this pod cast
because respondents did not tell true account of their experience. What the informants posted
does not reflect the real problems of the teenage pregnancy experiences. Because of this, there
are cases of bias reported.

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Chances of bias reported interfering with the validity of the pod cast because information is not
reliable. This causes challenges in relying on the information when discussing teenage
pregnancy. Similarly, the applicability of the information is minimal because they cannot enable
an individual to understand the problems related to teen pregnancy. This is because of doctored
information characterized by bias and unreliable source.
Influence of web-based information on global citizenship and multicultural understanding
Web-based information has influence on global citizenship and multicultural understanding.
Web-based information relates to certain geographical regions hence generalized to be
conclusive. For instance, most of the website information on teenage pregnancy dealt on the
western world cases making them has influence on non-western nations hence causing global
citizenship. Similarly, it allows for sharing of information and increased multicultural
understanding. This is because somebody from another part of the world can get information
concerning other parts without traveling physically.

Three factors to consider when evaluation internet sources

One of the factors is the source of information. Information becomes reliable when it originates
from a reliable and credited source such as author or an organization. Secondly, one should
consider the region where the information based. This is important when doing evaluation as one
can consume information from a region he or she did not intend. Thirdly, one needs to consider a

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date of publication. This is important in overcoming a test of time projects since information
needs update depending on the societal dynamics.
Conclusion
There is a lot of information that is freely available and easily accessible on the internet.
However, there is a need for caution to verify the credibility, as well as the source of information.
Similarly, one needs to determine the date of publication, author and region of the article before
considering its contents. This will prevent consumption of unhelpful and/or deleterious
information.

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References
Kevin, S. (2012). Teenage Pregnancy Video. Retrieved from: http://she.sulekha.com/teenagepregnancy_video_1437

Memmott, M. (2013). Teen Pregnancies continue to decline, New Reports shows. Retrieved
from: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/23/186277188/teen-pregnanciescontinue-to-decline-new-report-shows

World Health Organization. (2009). Teenage pregnancies cause many health and social
problems. World Health Organization. Podcast Retrieved from:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/podcasts/2009/teenage-pregnancy20090213/en/