MTV has always been subject to controversy, but the heat surrounding its new drama Skins may be some of the biggest backlash the channel has seen in a long time. Skins, which has been adapted from a popular British television show, has been called everything from inappropriate to obscene by critics, and has been condemned as child pornography by the Parents Television Council (PTC).  But that scrutiny isn’t totally unwarranted.

The show revolves around a group of teenagers and their daily dealings with alcohol, sex, drugs and family issues. The shows casual depiction of drug use and sexual behavior between characters played by underage actors has led to the PTC calling for a federal investigation of the show.

Though the PTC has been accused of being overly critical in the past, their stance on Skins is hardly unprovoked. There should be limits to how much explicit content is shown on basic cable.

“I tried to watch it, but it was really disturbing and graphic,” says senior Gabrielle Gricius.

While some claim that teenagers are not actually influenced by the television programs they watch, shows like the reality series Teen Mom contradict that.

While Skins shows teenagers acting inappropriately, Teen Mom shows the consequences of that reckless behavior. Some young fans strive to be just like the irresponsible young women featured on the program.

“I want to be on Teen Mom; should I have a baby? I really want to be on TV!” writes a YahooAnswer poster. “I’m only 13 and I want to get the coolest kid in school, or his best friend, to be the dad. I’m not picky!” If some teenagers can be convinced that having a baby at such a young age is a good idea, the risqué lifestyles depicted in Skins could have similar effects on young MTV fans.

Skins’ version of teenage life glamorizes the reckless and dangerous lifestyle that their unrealistically promiscuous characters lead. Promoting the lifestyles of the teen moms or the characters of Skins, even unintentionally, is irresponsible.