Social media, where is our anansesem?

Many years ago, childhood life was the best there was, anywhere in the world, be you rich or poor it didn’t matter. The old folks told their lovely tales at sunset by the fireside. They weren’t just stories that one would just listen to and gain nothing from but they were such that they provided moral values, enforced morality and ensured discipline.

Anansesem was a recreational activity meant to wine us down after a hard day’s work and school. After a shower and dinner, we gathered by the fireside and listened to those amazing stories which took the form of singing and dancing.

Storytelling increased the imaginative abilities of children and made them curious creatures. It improved and shaped us as humans. Helping people was part of the many reasons for which these stories were told.

The activities were meant to aid digestion as well as teach and instill discipline in the children. It also lit our faces with smiles and laughter even in our sleep we could sing some of the songs sung at that time.

Colourful as it was it fostered unity and peace in our communities unlike today. Computer age has taken a different face in our communities and country as a whole.

OH! how I wish Anansesem will be back on our screens. It will be an adventure reloaded. The youth of today may pick a few pointers from there. Arise, arise, Anansesem for we cry out to you to infuse discipline in our youth.

Today technology has crept its way into the world and has made life easier in a way for us but has also defeated the purpose for which it was created in the first place.

Today, a child’s life is dependent on social media as their parents live such fast and busy lives they have no way of knowing what their children are up to nor whom they are with not to talk of what they may be up to during their absence.

In my candid opinion, I think parents should not only sharpen their parental style but also ensure that their children receive the necessary guidance during their upbringing so they don’t fall by the way side.

It is often said “train up a child the way he should grow so that when he is old he will not depart from it”. I therefore charge parents to fulfill their parental duties to their children.

Ghanaian youth spend more time on social media when they can equally indulge in meaningful activities such as reading, sports, evangelizing amongst others they rather spend precious time posting nude pictures of themselves and uploading videos with sexual content which is highly unnecessary.

Copying what the white folks do should be dealt with as soon as possible. Let’s embrace our culture and hold it high.

We no longer wear our identity but rather pride ourselves with that of the white man. Gradually we are stripping ourselves off our ‘Africaness’ and nothing will be left of us to tell the next generation. Language is another aspect of our lives that is being taken out of our mouths gradually.

Most parents are to blame for not allowing their children to speak their mother tongue. They allow them to speak English both at home and in school. I believe that a child should learn and speak their native tongue before acquiring any other. That alone grants one an identity. Who you are is very important and without your native tongue you’re just lost in the world.

The wind is permitted to blow you anywhere. Again, other parents prefer their children to speak a common language since the parents themselves speak different languages. Perhaps Twi and Ga .I believe that may confuse the child so they tend to allow them to speak a common language to ease communication.

Soap operas flooding our television stations have influenced the youth to engage highly in sexual activity. Pregnancies are as alarming as abortions. One would ask aren’t there parental controls in our homes and society anymore or have they all gone to bed and left all the work in the hands of the teachers? I don’t think so, todays parents aren’t just lazy, too busy and not strict enough to right their children where they go wrong. Parents should not shy away from educating their children sexually.

The suggested age to begin sex education is 10years. It’s always better to be safe than to be sorry especially when it comes to your children. In that regard, its far better for you to educate your child early to prevent the wrong people from doing the teaching for you and the possibility of them teaching them or feeding them with wrong information is high so why not be the first to do so.