By Esther A. FRIMPONG, PUC Intern
There is mixed reaction to the increasing telecasting of Telenovelas by television stations in the country with a tilt towards a majority opinion that says the phenomenon is negatively impacting productivity.
The phenomenon has reached levels where some radio stations even simultaneously air live discussions with sister TV stations at the end of episodes.
For Paulina Mensah, a hairdresser, telenovelas have become a pain in the neck for her business. She told Business Day that she used to love Telenovelas but nowadays she doesn’t watch them at all because of her apprentices.
According to her, these soap operas distract her apprentices during work; therefore, she has disconnected her television in order not to allow the distraction to persist.
Paulina is not alone in the league of those Ghanaians who claim that telenovelas are hindering workers’ productivity levels.
The Deputy Minister for Employment, Bright Wireko Brobbey, has already called for a national discussion on the springing up of telenovelas across various media landscapes in the country.
Speaking to Joy FM recently on unemployment in the country, the minister revealed that the viral nature of telenovelas continues to affect workers’ productivity in the country.
“Telenovelas are really affecting productivity in Ghana, you go to every clinic, ministry, or place of work and you will see workers clinged on to the television watching such addictive movies,” he revealed in an interview with the Accra-based radio station.
It’s killing jobs
When Business Day went out and about to sample opinions of some Ghanaians on Telenovelas, Mrs Emma Osei, trader at Accra, said in a way Telenovelas distract her. Sometimes, it takes the courage to do something else, she indicated, saying now she has stoped watching Telenovelas because of the distraction.
Similarly, Mrs. Freda Obesse, a wig seller revealed that if she doesn’t watch telenovela just for a day she will go sick because, to her. it is part of her life and her daily schedule.
She goes to work at dawn and close early in order to get to meet the Telenovela show when she gets home, she said.
According to her, she watches them with her children and enjoys their company.
Mrs. Vivian Frimpong, a priestess at a church, also said that the Telenovelas are good for relieving people of stress but, in way, they distract people even from going to church sometimes.
“I have to be more determined to be able to show up at church in the evenings,” she confessed.
She further indicated that it has contributed to the decreasing number of members attending evening church meetings.
Not affecting us
The contrast is the case for Abena Kumi, a trader, who says that the telenovela craze does not affect her at all. As far as she is concerned, this is an anti-stress tonic.
To her, it is the economy that has become very hard, especially since the beginning of the year. Thus, government needs to pay attention to that instead.
If you go into a banking hall, you are likely to find out that the impact of telenovelas on the staff is very minimal of not nil. Such is the case for Mrs. Sandra Sarfowaa, Manageress for Access Bank’s Achimota Branch. She told Business Day that telenovelas do not really affect their work because they are always busy. She was cocksure that the phenomenon does not affect their work and produ
