The days of glorious marriages and healthy love relationships may be a thing of the past if instantaneous messaging is to become a permanent feature of modern life.
Those are the views of the celebrated playwright, Uncle Ebo Whyte, who has singled out profuse use of social media apps, Instagram and WhatsApp, for shaming as the reason why marriages have lately become a pale shadow of their previous glorious image.
“You really feel Instagram and WhatsApp have destroyed a lot of marriages eeh?” Sit-in host of the Joy Super Morning Show (SMS), Animwaa Anim-Addo, asked him.
“Yea, we didn’t have Instagram and WhatsApp,” responded Uncle Ebo Whyte, who is also the Director of Roverman Productions.
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Explaining his attribution with his personal life he said, “When I was dating Florence if I was angry with her and I needed to tell her off, I need to go and buy paper and write and wait for daybreak to go to the post office and cue to buy a stamp and mail it.”
He considers that the tedious process one had to endure in the past merely to communicate their feelings to their partners discouraged them from acting in their moment of anger. However, he contrasts that period to today’s era of instantaneous messaging.
“In your case, you have the thing instantly (referring to Instagram and WhatsApp). So you are working out your anger right there and then.” Uncle Ebo Whyte adds, “People have not learned the art of our parents and grandparents. They will tell you that there is some magic in the pillow. Go and sleep over it. Let your pillow speak to you. Because how you feel in the moment will not be how you feel ten minutes afterward.“
Explaining the need to desist from acting in anger, Mr. Ebo Whyte says, “One of the Twi renditions of anger is short-term madness. So whenever you lose your temper, whenever you are pissed or someone makes you angry, understand that for that moment you are mad.”
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So when we use the English expression I was so mad, you are so right, you were really mad and since you know you were made and will not stay mad, why are you acting in your madness?“ he quizzed.
According to records from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, there were 4,080 divorces from 2006 to 2014 April.
Friday’s edition of the Joy SMS was dubbed open forum to guide patrons who needed help in their relationships to be guided by the celebrated playwright who is himself a counselor of many years repute and have over the years used his plays, books, monthly magazines, and daily motivational messages as tools to address issues affecting society, including family.