May lay Point Of View: JHS Pornography?

When Joy

News on Tuesday, 22nd February, 2011 mentioned in the headlines that

mobile phone usage by non-tertiary students was going to be banned, I just

wandered and convinced myself that what may have caused the issuance of this

directive must be gruesome indeed.

My anxiety

was confirmed. About twelve (12) Junior High School students were said to have

been involved in a some kind of orgy, filmed with a mobile phone and was being

circulated somewhere in Kumasi. JHS students in a videoed orgy in Ghana? That is

gruesome indeed and certain drastic measures needed to be considered. To my

dismay on the other hand, this issue as crucial as it is has not generated as much

debates on how to deal with the problem than partisan politics has.

Come to

think of it, does the problem really have much to do with non- tertiary students

owning mobile phones? I beg to differ though I stand to be corrected. For me, putting

a ban on the use of mobile phones by non-tertiary students is not only unnecessary

but will do the feet of an ant in helping deal with the issue. If the source of

the problem which is the mentality of people is not dealt with, the next time, they

will resort to the use of more sophisticated material. Besides, if phones are

banned in schools, it

can definitely be used elsewhere. Therefore, the story remains the same. In any

case, I don’t even think the video was shot in school.

I think that

this video is a clear indication and hardcore evidence of what we already know

but have deliberately ignored; that our growing boys and girls are very

sexually active and need extreme attention. This video is only an escalation of

reality (because there could be many such cases that are not videoed). It provides

warning signs for us a people as to how far the uncontrolled sexual craze among

the youth of today and moral decadence can go.

Some years

ago, the word sex could hardly be mentioned with ease, children could hardly

look on when two adults were kissing even in a television programme. Some time

ago, the most appropriate way of portraying intimacy between two people in a

movie was through their conversation, a hug and perhaps a peg. Sometimes the

screen will black out for seconds and then show those two people lying beside

each other (covered of-course).

Today,

pornography and sex stares at you in the face everywhere you go, from the guy

selling video disks in the streets, to the trotro stations, to the most

respected news stands, to the universities, and the list goes on and on. Some

people make it look and sound as though sex is the reason why man exists. It

pursues you so much so that even if you do

not want, it gets stuck and plays back in your mind once you allow it.

Most of our

home made movies tell of nothing but sex, premarital, post marital and outside

marriage. In-fact, some of these acts are even portrayed as legitimate and

right so long as the individual thinks so. These acts are actually endorsed. As

we do best, we have “copied” and “pasted” from various parts of the world

certain social and cultural elements without “editing”. In effect, we have been

led into compromises we have had to live with as a people and these have been

diffused very effectively through person to person and group associations as

well as the media. Some of these practices have come to stay and there is

absolutely no turning back from them.

Today, we

crave for pictures and scenes that will mesmerize and ignite certain passions

on the inside of us, we want to see as real action as possible in our movies

and so producers and film makers only satisfy the demand on the market. Who is

to blame? People’s wives, husbands, fiancées and fiancés kiss passionately and

engage in heavy foreplay with others. Even when their immersion in the act can

be smelt rather than seen, they tell us it’s just acting. What can we say? We

will only listen and perhaps continue watching.

Today,

morality is no longer a virtue but a “relative” word which is applied according

to a person’s own views and beliefs. Wrong is right so long as an individual

perceives it as such and vice versa.

Perhaps we have bitten more than we can chew by importing without

editing.

I believe

the problem has emanated from parental neglect and the general break down of

moral values and systems and in the country and the world at large. Factors

like the breakdown of the external family system, the internet with all its

other benefits, busy schedules of parents and the lack of knowledge of a true

identity are but a few crucial contributors to the moral breakdown we

experience today.

Some of the

students may have decided to practice after being exposed to such videos, some

may have been influenced, some may have done it for the sake of it and others

may just have been tricked into it. Whatever the reason, the point is that at

their ages, they are experiencing sex, most probably unprotected.

The Solution

The solution

for me has nothing to do with the ownership of mobile phones but everything to

do with their mentalities, perceptions about themselves, moral values and the

content they either expose themselves, or are exposed to. These are some

crucial factors that can regulate succumbing to pressures and conflicting ideas

as well as one’s susceptibility to tricks.

Parents do

not seem to understand the teen of today and they make very little effort to

wake up to the realization of the times in which we are. They choose the easy

way of being unnecessarily strict or over-liberal instead of going through the

“hell” of understanding the complexities of the 21st century

teenager who has unlimited and uncontrolled access to sexual stimulants, sexual

objects as well as “sexual beings”.

The young person

growing in such an era of moral decadence has access to virtually everything. Their

body parts develop so fast making them look so elderly that they attempt

everything reserved for adults. Sadly however, they mostly lack the faculty to

understand and withstand the consequences of their actions. It is this faculty

that needs to be developed. In it lies their empowerment.

The problem

is deeply seated in values and morality. Parental attention, and a focus on

these areas of the lives of young people by all stakeholders including

religious bodies, corporate bodies, the media, the Ghana Education Service is

key in handling this problem. As for the sex scandals involving the very people

who are supposed to lead the youth on the path to high moral values, the least

said about them, the better. Whilst urging such people to revise their moral

and integrity notes, we also need to take another look at and develop our

Religious and Moral Education.

Conclusion

While I

vehemently condemn this embarrassing and degrading act which started from the

universities

and seem to be travelling, I would like to appeal to authorities to reconsider

the ban on mobile phones by non tertiary students because what these students

need is the appropriate mindset in order to take advantage of the enormous

benefits of the mobile phone especially during emergencies. The achievement of

such a mindset will not come on a silver platter especially considering the

kind of society in which we live today but progress is possible when all hands

are on deck.

In the 21st

century, I dare say that it is impossible to ban the use of mobile phones. In the

meantime, the young ones involved in this video if known, must be monitored attentively

especially in these times when young people seem to be resorting to suicide as

an easy way out in times of “crisis”.

GIFTY ANDOH

APPIAH (giftdot@yahoo.com)