The Views: Jasmine Ama Brings Ghanaian Culture Closer To Home

Handle: She goes by @JasmineAmaa on YouTube, @jasmineeama on Instagram and @jjasminesw on X. She also has a second channel under the username @lusciousskin&hair, which is also a business in Ghana.

Series: The channel has a lot of playlists, but by far the biggest overarching series is that of Jasmine’s experience of living in Ghana, split into smaller playlists. One of the many playlists belonging to that category has 49 videos.

Creators: Jasmine is the channel’s owner and main face. In her videos she is occasionally accompanied by friends and/or relatives.

Platform: The content comes primarily  from her YouTube channel/s.

Genre/Genres: Primarily educational and lifestyle content, vlog-style.

Subscribers/Followers: Jasmine has 197,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel and 12,500 followers on Instagram.

Ghanaian-Australian content creator Jasmine Ama first began posting videos on her YouTube channel 12 years ago in Australia, centered primarily around her experience with social work. Her first video was an introduction for YouTube, filmed shortly after obtaining her bachelor degree. From series like “A Day in the Life of a Social Worker” to “Interview Tips,” Jasmine would tackle all areas of social work for her viewers over the course of several years. Though her videos ranged from 4 minutes to 8 minutes, which would be considered short for 2013 YouTube, viewers would comment on her consistency and geniality. Many fellow social workers would comment as well, stating that her content felt both familiar and educational. Even though her content today has shifted towards focusing on her life in Ghana, her tone remains the same: thoughtful and educational.

Jasmine’s content is very informative. Her channel covers a lot of topics regarding Ghana. After all, it’s self-described as “a lifestyle channel about travel, personal experiences and stories of Africans in the diaspora” and claims to give viewers “a real glimpse” into Ghana. For those who have never been to Ghana, her videos are eye-opening and thorough. Very often, viewers who have been to Ghana or are from Ghana tell their own stories as supplements to Jasmine’s videos, with reactions from the content creator herself. This shows that both Jasmine and her audience care about the content being shared and cultivated. The interaction between content creator and audience is ultimately a very positive experience.

Since coming to Ghana in 2020, her growing passion for her newfound home has been easily seen through her improvements in her delivery. In some of her earliest videos, Jasmine appeared shier and more inexperienced with both being a content creator and eventually a newcomer to Ghana. With each new video, Jasmine’s confidence in her subject matter shows. Her comment section is filled with audience members who appreciate her genuine commentary on Ghanaian culture, cuisine and people. She posts regularly: every Thursday and every Sunday there is a new video showing a new facet of her life. In her vlogs, she takes the audience with her on her drives, to her appointments, to interact with people in her life, to do errands, and more. By talking directly to the camera in whichever location she is in, no matter who she is with, Jasmine makes the viewers feel like they are there as well. Through her eyes, viewers and commenters alike see Ghana for what it is and could be.

Jasmine’s content also touches on social issues and the broader community. She has often commented on her experience as a woman living alone in Ghana, said experience resonating with viewers in her aptly named “Living in Ghana Alone as a Woman” series. Though she loves Ghana, she keeps the advice grounded and real, even pointing out faults within her own personal experience or otherwise. This same delivery extends to other topics like Ghanaian real estate, culture and cuisine. Even in her active promotions of Ghanaian doctors or real estate agents, she outlines pros and cons to her audience. With that in mind, every video feels like a mini-essay: well-argumented and filled with evidence. 

In many of her videos she can be seen frequently interacting with other members of the community, from family members to strangers. Her first video with “Aunty B,” a Ghanaian “Market Woman,” was so well-received that Jasmine made a follow-up video not long after. In it Jasmine went to see Aunty B again, and gave her all the donations her audience had sent in, exemplifying the importance and value of community. To connect members of the diaspora means to interact with them directly, and Jasmine does that very well, aided by her candidness and her empathy. To her dedicated audience of almost 200,000 subscribers, it has not gone unnoticed, considering her rapid claim to fame in the last couple years on YouTube. By threading together her past experience with social work, her present life in Ghana and her future culture-building endeavors, Jasmine brings together her online community and her real-life one.