A social reading platform called Wattpad helps readers and writers connect online. It encourages users to write and publish original works in a variety of genres, including teen fiction, poetry, action, and adventure.
Stories on Wattpad, which was founded in Canada in 2006, range from those in Project Gutenberg’s public domain to those written by local users who may later publish them for larger audiences. As a result, teenagers and young adults may write knowing that their work may be read by many people. It’s crucial that kids comprehend how to be secure on Wattpad as a result.
Users must be 13 years of age or older, under Wattpad’s Terms of Service. The account of anyone under this age will be closed.
Some of the content available on Wattpad is of an adult nature. Every user has the ability to add a tale, thus it is up to them to choose the relevant tags. Your adolescent should report any stories that are not correctly marked if they come across them. Users can also exclude tales with adult material from their suggested reading lists.
Some categories are age-appropriate for children and some are not, which children can easily access. Categories range from adventure and LGBTQ+ to fan fiction and romance with different types of content in each. There is also a ‘New Adult’ category which contains erotic, relationship and romance stories with titles such as ‘booty call’ and ‘I slept with my stepbrother’ along with ‘smut’ stories containing sex and inappropriate language.
There are various settings to help manage what young people see so they can stay safe on Wattpad.
Despite the lack of particular parental controls, Wattpad has a number of features that can help your child stay safe while using the app. Set them up jointly to aid in their comprehension of the circumstances and empowerment over their own safety.
Report a story: In the app, press the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner of any story. Then select “Report.” Pick a justification, and then describe how the incident relates to the complaint. To submit, tap REPORT.
Report a user by going to their profile page, tapping the three dots in the upper right corner, selecting “Report,” entering the reason, and then tapping “Report.”
User muted: Tap the three dots in the top right corner of the user’s page, then select “Mute.” By selecting “Mute” once more, you may confirm. When a user is muted, they can no longer follow you, message you, post on your profile, or leave comments on your stories.
Users may control the alerts they get or totally disable push notifications. Go to your profile and click the gear icon in the top right-hand corner to accomplish this. Tap Notifications, then uncheck the appropriate boxes.
Set preferences for content: Click the symbol in the top right-hand corner of your home screen, to the left of your profile picture. To exclude mature material, toggle the setting. Access Blocked Tags and include tags you don’t want to appear in your feed. Click Save.
Participate in what your children are doing on Wattpad. They’ll start chatting to you about their internet activities if they realize you’re engaged in the topics that important to them.
It’s a good idea to establish a family agreement or set of ground rules for utilizing social media. It’s a fantastic method for parents and kids to learn together how to be responsible, knowledgeable, and safe online. Here are a few concepts:
Tell them to keep private information like their complete name, address, phone number, email address, etc. secure. private
Give them access to your account so you can keep tabs on their behavior.
Show them how to report any offensive content in accordance with Wattpad’s rules. Inform them if they get direct hate mail not to react. Have a conversation with them about proper language and conduct when communicating online. They shouldn’t say or act in a certain way online if they wouldn’t in person. Make sure they are aware of the rules of the neighborhood!
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