Why I never searched my name online since 2005 — Chimamanda Adichie

Award-winning Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie, has revealed why she stopped reading or searching for information about herself online since 2005.

In an interview with YouTuber Shade Samagbeyi, Adichie said she took the decision to protect her mental health.

“Since 2005, I have never read or searched about myself, and I never will, because I think it is important to protect yourself from the terrible part of the internet,” she said.

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According to the award-winning novelist, constantly searching for oneself online is like “battling faceless ghosts” that can distort reality and cause mental harm.

“Moreover, you can’t battle faceless ghosts. If you’re searching for yourself all the time, what you’re really doing is battling faceless ghosts and it’s bad for you mentally. It distorts your view of reality.

“For me, at least to stay focused on what I want to do, the background noise has to be blocked. There are so many people who write without knowing how deeply they affect someone’s life through it.

“Several celebrities have committed suicide because they were so wounded by what these faceless ghosts wrote about them.

She noted that negative comments have driven many celebrities into depression and even suicide.

Chimamanda Adichie added that she wouldn’t have written most of her literary works, or become who she is today, if she had started off reading people’s opinions about her.

“If I had started off reading what people said, I wouldn’t have written and said the things I did. I wouldn’t have become who I am, because I would have been constantly thinking about what people say.

“But there is a kind of wonderful ignorance of stupidity that helps you do what you want to do. So, I never search for myself. I will not do it. It’s unhealthy.”

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