Inappropriate TikTok materials affront to Ghana’s culture —NCC Director

The Director for Policy Planning, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the National Commission on Culture (NCC), Richardson Commey Fio has raised concerns about how inappropriate some materials on social media platform, TikTok, are an insult to Ghanaian culture.

He is of the view that Ghanaian culture promoted decency, and the platform dominated by the youth, was gradually evolving into a hub of immorality.

“Some individuals are now very popular or referred to as celebrities because of how famous their TikTok accounts have become. However, the kind of contents that are mostly shared on this app currently are becoming a threat to the cultural values and norms of Ghana.

“Today, many TikTok videos by Ghanaian young women are just about ‘ass-hibition’ and ‘twerkification’.  Is it greed, fame or fun? Desperate young people, mostly females, who perhaps want their accounts to become popular overnight with thousands of following have resorted to nudity, messages on sex and romance; profanity and eroticism.

“Such new trends are gradually influencing innocent youths into becoming social misfits and deviants,” he said.

He argued that even though the app had varied benefits, including the ability for users to share messages with their followers, often in the form of videos, and allow them to reasonably earn money from their activities, particularly for those who have large followings, the content creators were rather abusing the platform and using it for improper gains.

He noted that it was essential for those in charge of regulating social media activities to take the necessary action to halt the flow of such offensive and improper contents on TikTok.

“I believe it is about time we take a look at the management of the social media space within the territories of Ghana.

“In fact, most of the videos we share on TikTok in Ghana, cannot be allowed by China, the home country of the app. I implore the Ministry of Information, Ministry of Interior, National Intelligence Bureau and the rest, to consider the best way to regulate the cyberspace in this country,” he stated.