According to Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” which illustrates how the tongue can be used as a weapon to destroy or a panacea to heal.
However, in the modern world, some power of the tongue runs through the keypads of various communication devices.
Social media has undoubtedly impacted how people interact with one another, highlighting the positivity on various platforms, yet this online connectivity may have a negative impact on one’s mental health and even the use of unhealthy drugs, due to the numerous forms of online bullying.
Anyone who finds himself or herself online may confront many sorts of online harassment, such as cyberbullying or trolling, but for certain artists, this harassment may have a negative impact on their craft.
There is no doubt in Ghana that artists have been targeted with various types of attacks aiming at hurting not just their talent but also their personality.
In reality, personal attacks have become the norm on Ghana’s social media platforms, with incendiary remarks, off-topic issues, and unpleasant comments.
Unraveling the cyberbullying sequence on Ghanaian artists
One music artist who has personal problems spread on social media is Reginald Ainooson, popularly known as Reggie Zippy of the ‘Reggie and Bollie’ fame.
According to the “Adoma” hitmaker, he was exposed to some form of bullying on social media, especially on Twitter, during the first two-three years of the Reggie and Bollie journey.
“From strangers and people who literally didn’t know us wanted to still express their opinion, and it makes you realise that, once you become famous or popular and people get to know you a lot, human beings would always express their opinions about you, whether good, bad, or ugly.
“It is like in this social media era, people don’t really think that celebrities or famous people are normal humans because of their privileges. They can say whatever is on their mind without realising the impact of the words,” he told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
Popular social media critic Albert Nathaniel Tetteh, popularly known as ‘Bongo Ideas,” said in an interview with the GNA that he doesn’t personally attack artists but criticises them to help them better their craft.
“Well, generally, I think at the base of what I do is to make people better. So, if an artist is emotional about what he does, then I think what I would say would get to the artist on a more personal level.
“So, people think mine is a vendetta or personal attack. It’s never like that. It’s just trying to criticise you and let you do better. I believe that words have power, and they are supposed to bring out the results,” he said.
“I believe that it is having an impact. Whether negative or positive, it still has an impact. So, it is based on the artist and how they decide to react to whatever I say about them,” said Bongo Ideas.
According to Bongo Ideas, he does not really care about accusations of bullying because he believes what he does is right for the industry and does not even pay attention to comments people raise about bullying others.
“For me, I believe there is a line between criticising someone’s work and bullying, especially when using words like stupid or foolish. For me, I believe in calling out people for the works based on moral grounds and their content,” he said.
Dr Isaac Newman Arthur, a renowned Ghanaian clinical psychologist, believes that artists often rely on the feedback of their fans to maintain some form of relevance over time and that any form of negative social media comments often worsens the mental health problem because most of them are already stressed.
“Most artists are either stressed, anxious, depressed, or even suffer identity problems, depending on how their childhood went or how they accept things and also their own perception of themselves.
“Maintaining their confidence, and keeping their family, among many other responsibilities makes them heavily burdened. So, anything that is negative worsens their problems, because most of them feed on the relevance that is granted to them based on the reception that they receive from their fans or audience,” he said.
Dangers of Cyberbullying on Artists
The subject of how celebrities deal with cyberbullying and trolls remains a dark secret in the entertainment industry. It is undeniable that many outstanding artists have fled the scene as a result of social media attacks.
Constructive criticism may be beneficial, but when it deviates from its fundamental goals of developing one’s attitude and craft, it can lead to negative repercussions, including suicide, according to studies.
Dr. Newman Arthur argues that artists adopt dysfunctional coping techniques to deal with the negative effects of cyberbullying, which do not encourage a healthy lifestyle.
“So, if they do not maintain good professional care, most of them are going to use dysfunctional coping strategies. Alcohol and ‘those’ things. You know, most of those things are a person’s way of managing their own experiences and boosting performance, which is certainly not the best.
“This procedure, also known as the maladaptive coping strategies, that affect their health negatively, has an adverse impact on their craft,” he said.
Way Forward
Award-winning songwriter Fameye states in an interview with the GNA that some of the negative things said on social media do disturb him a little bit, but has over time dealt with most of the situations because of his experience in the industry.
When asked how he copes with social media backlash, Fameye said: “For me, I think because I’m human, there are certain things that are going to move me and disturb me a little bit.
“But it doesn’t really go a long way because I’ve been doing this for a while and I think, for me, I need both the negative and the positive comments to ignite the fire in me as I continue to progress and do my thing.”
Reggie Zippy also had advice for his fellow artists and celebrities: “So my message that I would like to send to other celebrities and to people using social media is that nobody’s opinion matters more than your opinion and your view of yourself.
“And so long as you are operating within the laws and, you know, doing the right stuff, forget any other person’s opinion. Just do you; be you. You know, the world has been shaped by people who dared to be themselves, even in the face of criticism.”
Sharing his thoughts as to how artists and public figures could build a resistance towards these online attacks, Dr. Newman Arthur, says they would have to intensely maintain a certain lifestyle that protects and preserves their mental well-being.
“So, artists should have a positive attitude towards life, healthy friendships, minding their own business, exercise, good nutrition, enough sleep, being thankful, and forgiveness.
“Positivity has to be within themselves, maintaining a positive attitude and mindset about everything. And they are not making a big deal out of everything that they experience out there.
“They need that positivity to be able to maintain a good mental health. Then again, in the entertainment world, they should have a personal person they can go to all the time. Maybe a professional, a mental health professional. The same with their managers. They should have someone, a professional they can go to, to be able to help them deal with their mental health issues.”
A Point of Contact (POC) at the Cyber Security Authority of Ghana disclosed to the GNA that a total of 509 cases of cyberbullying have been recorded from January 2020 to September 2024.
But unfortunately, most of the cases were not online harassment or trolls but victims of online loan apps.
According to the POC, most victims downloaded the apps from the Play Store with the intention of seeking loans, and in some cases, after paying them back, they were bullied by administrators of the app.
“So far, 422 Ghanaians and three foreign nationals engaged in illegal online loan applications have been arrested in an exercise conducted on July 10, 2023.
“But we want to encourage Ghanaians to report all forms of cyberbullying to our outfit, and we will readily come to their aid,” he says.
In conclusion, as the power of the keypad grows stronger by the day, it is critical for artists and the public to use the tactics described above to combat cyberbullying so that they can live productive and resilient lives, and not be scared of harassment and bullying online.
