A lifestyle listicle doing the rounds argues that small, unspoken habits bind female friend groups together — here is what it actually says.
Not every story is about policy or prices. A lifestyle piece published by The Ghana Report sets out six small habits the writer believes most women recognise in themselves and their friends, even when nobody talks about them openly.
It is an opinion column rather than a news report, and the examples lean heavily on Western pop culture. Still, the underlying idea — that friendship groups run on unwritten rules — will be familiar to readers in Accra and in the diaspora alike.
What the list covers
The night-out recap. The writer describes the habit of filming an entire evening out with friends on Snapchat, from getting ready, to the ride to the bar, to the embarrassing moment someone stumbles on the way back indoors. The fun part, she notes, is followed by the cringe of watching it all back the next morning.
Feeling unsafe after dark. The column points to a widely shared sense of fear when walking alone, especially when someone is walking quickly behind. The writer links it to rising crime and says the concern is about gender rather than race.
Comfort over appearances. Hot weather, she writes, becomes a convenient excuse to drop certain clothing rules and avoid dealing with other people's drama.
Dating by committee. When one friend starts a relationship, the whole group effectively enters it too. If a friend complains repeatedly about a partner, the writer says, the rest of the group forms its own opinion — a sign of how invested close friends become in each other's love lives.
Snapchat as a friends-only zone. The piece argues that unflattering selfies are meant for best friends, not potential dates, and that a man who asks for a Snapchat username instead of a phone number has already undermined his chances.
The breakup anthem. Finally, she describes the ritual of singing along loudly to Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" when a friend has been hurt. No alcohol required, she writes — just a speaker and the right company.
The point of it
The writer's conclusion is that these habits amount to an unspoken code, shaped partly by pop culture, and that she would not change how her circle operates.
A note for readers
The article is a personal reflection, not research. Its references — Snapchat dating culture, Uber rides, Saturday night romantic comedies on a women's television network — will land differently for readers in Ghana than for those living in the United States. The core observation about friendship rules, though, travels well enough.
