A tipster sent this to me this morning and after clicking the link, I — the guy who thought he had seen it all from our pop culture overlords — literally gasped:

DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THINGS TO THE NEXT LEVEL? LIKE, ARE YOU READY TO HAND OVER YOUR V CARD? OR DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND WHO IS READY TO LOSE IT?

Young adulthood is a time for exploration. New relationships, fresh experiences and sexual firsts…

Now MTV is looking to frankly capture that journey in a new series called My First…We’re looking for adults who are ready to go all the way. Let MTV come along on your journey… as you try to lose your virginity! (Note: We will be filming whether or not you accomplish this goal… but NOT the act itself. Duh.)

If you are 18 years or older and are willing to candidly allow MTV to accompany you on the journey toward “losing it,” please send us an email.

MTV can and undoubtedly will hide behind the fact that 18 year-olds are legal adults, but you can prey on adults just as easily as you can prey on children, especially young adults conditioned by pop culture outlets like MTV to believe celebrity and narcissism are virtues. 

And the bait here is celebrity. Debase yourselves for our cameras and we’ll make you a star! This isn’t about love or finding love or even losing your innocence to someone you love. This is about the lie that…

Young adulthood is a time for exploration. New relationships, fresh experiences and sexual firsts…

I seem to remember when we were the kind of culture that protected young people from the indignities of loveless sex and did everything in our power to educate about the financial, emotional, and medical pitfalls of leading with your sexuality over your heart.

What MTV is doing might be legal, but it’s still a sleazy exploitation of some of our most vulnerable citizens. And the dangling of celebrity and a camera from a swanky studio lot is no different than dangling candy and a camera from your open raincoat. 

If you want to debase yourselves, it’s a free country. To entice others, however, is an act of evil.