The Wages Of Social Media

We are appalled at the waning spate of insensitivity in our country with social media providing the destructive impetus. The dissemination of graphic videos and pictures of gruesome murders with victims' nudity in full glare beats imagination in a country which prides itself with moral uprightness.

Our values abhor such graphic displays of the nudity of the dead yet so-called modernity has pushed these social tenets to the backburners with such reckless abandon that we are afraid whether our cultures would last for another century.

The so-called telenovas have added to our woes as housewives, children and others almost addicted to the series learn inadvertently new and questionable behaviours.

Not only have we ignored the state of pain in which families of victims have been enmeshed by the murder of their relations, breadwinners and even parents – we do not think of think about adopting measures to obviate future recurrence of such absurdities.

Have our ethnic values vanished to the extent that the courtesies with which deaths and other events are announced no longer hold sway?

For how long shall we remain indifferent as the fibre of our society is shredded to smithereens? To think that these are taking place at a time when our church and mosque attendance is at an all-time high beats imagination.

In the past few days following the gruesome murder of Captain Maxwell Mahama, social media has been abuzz with graphic pictures of the deceased. The spectacle which we can bet has crossed the frontiers of this country would definitely cause more pain to the bereaved families. As for the kids they should just not see these horrible pictures.

People cherish taking pictures of accident victims more than rendering helping hands to them. What a people!

While some persons could not stand the look of how the soldier was murdered others appeared to be savouring the nasty video as they engaged in unnecessary street-side gossips.

The days when foreign films were censored and the likes of the telenovela series would not have had a foothold here let alone having a club with a respectable following among the youth and housewives are missed.

We condemn all those who facilitated the spread of the nudity of the deceased without considering the values of our society and the emotional stress the spouse and parents are enduring now. Our churches and mosques have important roles to play in changing our ways because it is becoming too serious.

The roles of social media are two-pronged-good or bad. The latter segment is what is ruling in the matter of the murder of Captain Mahama and that is what has provoked this commentary.

We surely cannot effect an overnight change in the way people manage social media but we can appeal to their consciences to rethink the way they manage such unfortunate occurrences.

Let us pay a befitting tribute to the late Captain Mahama by resuscitating our values and allow decency to rule our ways. Ours is the human kingdom and not the animal and so the difference should be clear.