Social media to play critical role in Ghana's elections - NMC

By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, May 02, GNA - Social Media (SM) would play a critical role towards the November 7 General Election, Mr Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, the Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), has said.

'In this election year, SM has become part of both the real campaign and the shadowy political war of attrition being waged by the two main political parties in Ghana on the internet,' he said, explaining that it was very difficult now to tell the truth from fabrication, especially of material emanating from political parties.

Mr Gyan-Apenteng, who was addressing the Third Annual Psychology Conference of the Ghana Psychology Association (GPA), University of Ghana, said: 'The solution is to provide immediate and the timely release of information on official platforms in order to minimise and possibly eradicate mischief making from our information contexts,'

The conference was on the theme 'Social Media in Contemporary Societies: Effects on the Family, Organisation, Schools and Policies'.

Speaking on the topic 'Impact of Social Media on Mainstream Media Practice', the NMC Chairman said, 'One obvious effect of the misuse of SM was a heightened sense of unease among the population'.

He said information carried in the mainstream media were often credible because it had been worked out on and hopefully checked by a number of professional people, while SM was mostly the opposite.

Mr Gyan-Apenteng said the danger arose when journalists of the mainstream also took their sources from SM.

'Today, one clear effect of SM on mainstream media is speed because of the rapidity within which news spreads on SM, traditional media is often tempted to sacrifice its fact checking duties in order to join the news stampede,' he said.

'The rush to publish does not only sacrifice the checking of facts, it also leads to one-sided stories without verification or collaboration.'

Mr Gyan-Apenteng also cited information on SM, on Monday, April 25, which said a rainstorm was heading to Ghana from Benin, which turned out to be hoax.

'None of the above should be taken to mean a blanket indictment of SM, as a source. Indeed, many journalists use SM to break their news; an example is the Haiti earthquake in 2010, which was broken on twitter'.

He said, to society as a whole, SM had been a blessing in many ways; explaining that there were huge benefits derived from SM, especially for young people such as exploring the world, relationships, and most importantly network into the governance structures of their communities and countries.

'It is the unprofessional use and unmediated use of SM content that is causing us all so much anxiety,' he said.

Mr Edward Ato Sarpong, a Deputy Minister for Communications, gave a global and national overview of the historical development of the communications industry.

He said Ghana had more than 34 million mobile subscriptions, of which 18 million were doing mobile internet, adding that, 35 per cent of all mobile phone usage in the country was smart phones.

He said SM had brought about citizen journalism and collective responsibility; however, it could create abuse of freedom and virtual retaliation.

Professor Ama de-Graft Aikins, the Vice Dean, School of Graduate Studies, University of Ghana, speaking on the topic 'Social Media and Mental Health in Ghana', said depression and sleep problems were common among people who used SM.

She explained that young people were major beneficiaries of SM, therefore, they stood at risk most.

Prof Christopher Charles Mate-Kole, the President of GPA, in his welcoming address, said despite all the numerous advantages of SM, it had some challenges; hence the need for psychologists to take a critical look at it.

GNA