5 Tech Myths Nigerians Still Believe
I once believed turning off my phone at night could make it last longer.
A friend had sworn that putting a wet phone in rice would fix it.
And if you’ve ever heard someone say, “No, please, I don’t share my phone charger,” you’re not alone.
In Nigeria, we have tech beliefs that have been passed around like WhatsApp meme stickers—but are they true?
Let’s debunk 5 tech myths Nigerians still believe:
1. “Emptying the Recycle Bin deletes everything permanently”
No be lie? Actually, no be true.
When you empty the recycle bin, the files look gone, but they’re still hiding somewhere in your hard drive. With the right software, they can be recovered. The only sure way to erase them? Destroy the memory drive—literally. So don’t just delete your secrets o!
2. “Using another person’s charger will spoil your phone”
This one dey cause quarrel in the hostel… especially girls hostel😂
Unless the charger is fake or has poor voltage regulation, your phone will be just fine. Charging from your roommate’s cable won’t trigger a thunderstorm, they just don’t want to give you. So stop being stingy with your charger—unless you bought it from a bus conductor.
3. “Leaving your phone plugged in overnight destroys the battery”
Relax. Your phone isn’t planning to explode in your sleep.
Modern phones use lithium-ion batteries that stop charging when they’re full. Unless you’re using an iPhone 3GS in 2025 (God forbid🤣), overnight charging won’t harm it. So sleep well, your phone’s battery has sense.
4. “You must wait till your battery is 0% before recharging”
This one na old tale from the Nokia era.
Back then, we used nickel-cadmium batteries. Now, we have smarter lithium-ion batteries. Charging at 30%, 40%, even 75% is just fine. You no dey impress anybody by waiting till your phone is gasping for life.
5. “Full signal bars = better network”
You see full bars and still can’t browse? Welcome to the Nigerian experience.
Those bars just show signal strength, not network speed. In crowded places like weddings or stadium concerts, the cell tower is probably overwhelmed. So calm down—na everybody dey suffer am.
Bonus Myth: “Cookies on your browser are dangerous.”
No be virus o! Cookies just store small info to make websites easier to use. They’re not hackers hiding inside your phone.
Moral of the story?
Not everything our cousins or WhatsApp groups say about tech is gospel. Sometimes, we need to update our beliefs—just like we update our phones.
Which of these have you believed before? Or is there one myth I didn’t mention? Share below.
I believed that sharing charger will spoil my charger. Most of the time it’s the mishandling of my charger by my neighbours that damage my charger . So yes I still believe the myth
I agree with you
This is so cool
Thank you very much
Abeg what about receiving calls when your phone is connected to the charger
Well, I think the myth there is correct.