We believe: Teen pregnancy is a serious matter that MTV is looking to exploit for ratings.

MTV is keeping well hidden the identity of the local pregnant teen a camera crew is following around for a reality show on the cable network. The Herald Bulletin got wind of it Tuesday, a day after the girl and the MTV crew made a shopping trip to the local Wal-Mart.

The network’s new show, tentatively titled “16 and Pregnant,” according to realitytvworld.com, has an unspecified air date, so it’s normal that production would be hush-hush.

From what we know so far, however, it seems like a dubious honor to be featured in such a show. It was a mere generation ago that teen pregnancy was only whispered about. Now it’s a cause to be celebrated on television.

As THB reporter Joe Lanane wrote, it’s a post-“Juno” world. “Juno,” of course, was the 2007 movie about the irascible pregnant teen who elected to keep her baby.

Earlier this year, news came out of Gloucester, Mass., about a pregnancy pact among teenagers. A total of 17 girls got pregnant in what the principal of their school, Joseph Sullivan, called a pact. The town didn’t like that comment much, and Sullivan was taken to task by Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk.

Sullivan resigned this week. But he might have been onto something. Some of the Gloucester girls reportedly said they wanted to get pregnant to alleviate the boredom.

This is a breakdown in communication between adults and children. These are children who are left on their own to learn about sex because adults are aghast that such a thing should be taught in schools while at the same time are hesitant to teach their own children about a totally life-changing event such as pregnancy.

The babies born to these girls will be raised by children who don’t have any money, so either their parents or other relatives — or the state — will pick up the expense, which can be formidable.

Also, these girls aren’t looking for husbands. The boys who impregnate them are often out of the picture.

To some, having a baby has become de rigeur, a sign of status made all the more romantic by shows like “16 and Pregnant.”

“This allows young people to tell stories in their own voice — no judgments, no declarations, just their story,” said an MTV spokeswoman.

Sorry, but those “own” stories affect a multitude of people — from parents and friends to educators to city and state officials. In fact, those stories have rocked the small fishing village of Gloucester with tentacles reaching all over the nation. There should be some judgments and declarations against teen pregnancy.

Teens who get pregnant may be thinking me, me, me, but their actions affect many, including a new baby born to girls ill equipped to care for them, both financially and emotionally.

MTV is not doing these girls a service. The network might if it would present all the drawbacks of young motherhood, but if the show is sticking to stories from the teen’s point of view, no one will learn much of anything. Teen pregnancy is a serious social matter that MTV is exploiting for ratings.