Is Harry Potter The Reason Daniel Radcliffe Doesn't Have Social Media?
Daniel Radcliffe was first rocketed to international stardom in 2001 when he starred as the boy wizard in the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s super successful book series Harry Potter. Though it’s been more than a decade since filming the eighth and final film finished, Radcliffe is still one of the world’s most famous and iconic actors.
After Harry Potter came to a close for Radcliffe, he turned his attention to several surprising roles in Indie and low-budget films, often choosing to portray eccentric and unexpected characters.
Though he continues to work in the film industry, he has resisted jumping on the social media bandwagon that so many of his fellow celebrities have leveraged to increase their star power.
Potter fans have been hoping that Radcliffe would sign up for Twitter or Instagram, if for no other reason than to allow them to interact with him. But it looks like Radcliffe won’t be online anytime soon.
Why Daniel Radcliffe Won’t Be Getting Social Media Anytime Soon
Daniel Radcliffe is one of the world’s most famous faces, but the Harry Potter star won’t be getting social media anytime soon. Though several fan and unofficial accounts exist in his honor, the British actor has revealed that he has purposely never signed up for social media and doesn’t intend to now.
"I would love to say there's some sort of intellectual, well-thought-out reason for this, because I considered getting a Twitter, and I 100 percent know that if I did, you all would be waking up to stories of like, 'Dan Radcliffe gets into fight with random person on Twitter,'" he said on the First We Feasts ‘Hot Ones’ video (via USA Today).
He explained that when he was younger he would seek out press about himself and read over negative comments online, which he called an “insane and bad thing to do.”
"To me, like Twitter and everything just sort of feels like an extension of [reading negative comments about yourself online]. Unless I'm going to go on to just read all nice things about myself, which also feels like another kind of unhealthy thing to do."
Radcliffe concluded by admitting that he doesn’t believe he’s “mentally strong enough” to handle social media, which he’s “all right with” for the time being.
What Effect Have Negative Public Opinions Had On Daniel Radcliffe?
Though to many people Daniel Radcliffe’s life seems perfect, he has had to deal with a lot of personal challenges that have stemmed from being so famous and successful, including a terrifying first experience on the red carpet. And many of them struck his life when he was still young, limiting his capacity to deal with them in a health way.
In an interview with The Off Camera Show (via Cheat Sheet), Radcliffe shared that he found being booed by fans really difficult to deal with when he was a kid.
“There are professional hunters in the world, and they make money off that, and I don’t hate that,” he explained. “There are some people who can do it and will go about it in a way that is OK, and … and it’s fine, but there are also some people who will boo and shout at a child.”
He added, “But at that moment, if you just hear people booing and shouting stuff at you and about you, that, as a kid, sucked. I do remember that being very disheartening.”
How Daniel Radcliffe Coped With Fame In His Younger Years
In order to cope with the pressures of fame, including trolls spewing hate at him and people booing him when he couldn’t sign their autographs, Radcliffe turned to alcohol.
“If I went out and if I got drunk, I’d suddenly be aware of there being interest in that because it’s not just a drunk guy. It’s ‘Oh, Harry Potter’s getting drunk in the bar,’” he shared, before confessing that his “way of dealing with that [was] just to drink more or get more drunk, so I did a lot of that for a few years.”
In particular, the anxiety that he felt as the franchise drew to a close and he didn’t know what his next step in life was led him to drink.
“A lot of drinking that happened towards the end of Potter and for a little bit after it finished, it was panic, a little bit not knowing what to do next – not being comfortable enough in who I was to remain sober.”
Radcliffe has proudly been sober since 2010. He originally attempted to give up drinking numerous times, finally being able to with the help of trusted friends.
“Ultimately, it was my own decision,” he stated. “Like, I woke up one morning after a night going like, ‘This is probably not good.’”
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