Social media platforms have all taken us by storm, and as quickly as they come, they go. Soon we will live in a world where YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. are just fading memories. For those of us who actually remember, let’s talk about Wattpad. For folks who enjoyed reading in middle school, Wattpad was the perfect app.
You were able to write content, establish a fanbase, talk on multiple forums, chat with other authors, and pretty much get involved with a community of people who enjoyed reading and writing. The wonderful thing about it was that it gave a segue-way for serious writers to get published. However, it also gave many thirteen-year-old girls the ability to read risque fanfics about One Direction.
If you were one of the many fortunate people to use this app and publish content on it, you know that in 2013 Copyright infringement walked so that plagiarism could run. After the epidemic of multiple users stealing content from original others, Wattpad just didn’t bounce back completely.
If you were avidly involved in the Wattpad community from 2010-2016 here’s my hypothesis on how I think it changed our community mindset… sexually.
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If you divulged into the corners of ANY genre on Wattpad then your sexual ideology is skewed. I’ll give you three examples. Some of you are either; looking for the alpha to your omega, think being kidnapped by a mafia lord is a vacation, or still hoping there’s a chance that One Direction will adopt you.
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Dom and Sub (Dominant and Submissive) power dynamics have been tainted. Consent was and still is used so loosely that if you didn’t already have a good grasp on how you should be treated the content could set you up to idolize toxic relationships.
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Have you ever just fantasized about being kidnapped by a powerful figure? No friends, no family, just a new group of people who are also complacent in your captivity. Well, that’s called Stockholm syndrome and we will not be idolizing it any further.
-Sincerely, Your Favorite Wattpad Author