The Most Dramatic Rose Ceremony Ever

The television show, The Bachelor has recently wrapped up its most recent season. The show has one male and many females that he is dating at the same time in hopes of finding love and proposing at the end of the season. It is a highly rated show with other shows in the franchise: The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise, and Bachelor Winter Games.

For members of Bachelor Nation (the groupies of the show), we have spent the last few weeks sorting through gossip columns and trying to find spoilers on how this season of the Bachelor would end. We heard for the millionth time from Chris Harrison about how we would all be shocked at the heightened level of drama the show would produce in the last episodes of Arie’s season of The Bachelor. Within the total of 5 hours in the finale and the “After the Final Rose” special we saw heartbreak from Becca (the girl he proposed to and chose at the end) as Arie (the Bachelor) left her for Lauren (his runner-up that he had sent home) causing heartbreak and out roar through Bachelor Nation.

Now you may be wondering why exactly I am choosing to spend my time recapping The Bachelor finale with you at this moment. It’s to really draw attention to how the whole finale went down and the media’s constant need to out-do itself for the most grossing or dramatic events. Take a second and think about the future of media if we continue down this path. If we keep getting more and more dramatic by exposing people in the media and finding the new scandal to entertain people with staged “reality TV” will it change us as people and our perspectives in time making us a more dramatic society?

Television is great! I am not saying don’t watch television! Television is such a great way to foster good conversation between you and your teen! You can talk about healthy and unhealthy relationship qualities in both plutonic relationships and romantic relationships. These days relationships are hard. We as a society are in a constant rush, busy for the next moment, so in a moment gathered around the television it is a good time to engage in conversation and relax during what is classically thought to be a quiet time. By changing the way you view television you can be more aware of what you are taking in, making you more self-aware.

I was a member of the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence Youth Council for four years before I graduated high school and moved on to a college 45 minutes away from home. I still go every home every weekend to spend time with my family and unwind from my very busy schedule. During this time at home I always spend time with my mom watching television and catching up on all of my favorite shows I missed during the week. We take this time so I can catch up on all of my shows from Riverdale to America’s Next Top Model. I was lucky enough to be home for spring break to watch the final episodes of The Bachelor live. While we were watching the two. Of us were discussing how when Arie broke up with Becca she kept asking him to leave and how he was being abusive by sticking around the house as if almost to watch her break down. We also kept commending Becca for her strength and how well she handled herself in that moment as well as when she was seeing him again and they were talking in the live After the Final Rose special. By having these discussions with my mom, I feel like I am more aware of how I want to be treated one day and I can further identify what unhealthy relationships could look like while also enjoying a fun girls night. These conversations are now part of our everyday chatter.

My challenge to you is to reach out to your teens and connect with them through their media to help you foster conversations about relationships in their lives as well as the positive qualities in healthy relationships. We want to hear how this goes for you! We would love if you would let us know in the comments!!