Internet Romance in Ghana

If you or any of your friends or family are involved in a romantic involvement over the Internet, please heed this serious warning.

While there are certainly many many relationships between Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian citizens, and no blanket statements can ever be made, a simple Google search for "Internet romance Ghana" will show the extent of this problem. We address the issue here because we receive many queries related to this issue, and the topic dominates discussions on travel forums about Ghana.

On Internet chat and social sites there are a disproportionate number of young men and women from Ghana professing to search for true love. Many people become enthralled when first reading these profiles professing a search for romantic love. Well, be careful about African friends you meet online. There are a number of horror stories and certainly many travelers have had bad experiences with "friends" they meet online. There are also lots of wonderful stories from men and women who visit and have a great time with people they meet, regardless of their orientation.

So, if you are visiting Ghana for the culture, the scenery and for a good holiday, then by all means come and have a great time. But if you are coming just to sex with some Internet chat friends or meet your new wife, our advice is to stay home! At the nefarious Internet cafes in Ghana there may be 3 or 4 young men working together, each having multiple chats with foreigners - sometime pretending to be women, sometimes pretending to be gay, but always pretending to be anything that you want to meet. Some people are illiterate and hire typists who move from computer to computer answering chat messages. They work together to help each other formulate responses to questions in chats and email. They cut-and-paste sweet love for a commission on arranging a meeting.

Please realize that any person who comes at you with instant love is feeling love for the opportunity that you present and the money you have. The scams sound sincere, but all involve you sending money or assisting with a visa. Even if you are a poor person in your country, you are a very rich person by comparison to most of your African chat friends. This disparity in wealth profoundly affects any relationship that you will ever develop. What people want is a better life. Remember that only 100 years ago in the West, marriage was based on the ability to provide a good life, and not the romantic notion of love. Such is still the situation in much of the world today.

Be quick to say goodbye to any online "friend" who asks you for money, gifts or help with a visa, family emergency or other such issue. Simply say I do not think you are the correct friend for me in Ghana.