Are you Safeguarded from Mature Content on Wattpad?

Have you ever found a story that sounded interesting on Wattpad, and while reading it, you unexpectedly come across an inappropriate scene? I can guarantee you have and it's got me thinking, can we be safeguarded from inappropriate content on the app or has it become normalised within the Wattpad society to not disclose warnings?

Our Hypothesis: 

A moderator button does exist on the app but publishers are not aware of it or don't switch it on to gain a reaction.

Wattpad is a story-telling entertainment company established in Canada, Toronto. The app is targeted at 13 years and over and around 70+ million people use the app monthly. Wattpad provides opportunities for people to read stories by others as entertainment, to pursue their passion for writing and to publish stories. Furthermore it gives a chance to express voices, share ideas and for others to start a career.

I had an experience when first trying out the app as I enjoy reading during my free time. While reading a story that appealed to me, I approached an inappropriate description I didn't expect to find. I was so confused as to why there was no warning at the beginning of the story. Like books that contain inappropriate content, I expected mature stories to have a warning on Wattpad. Then I realized, if the book I read didn't, then there could be other stories out there with no warning of Mature Content. Other readers could have the same experience I did. This was when I started asking, how is Mature Content moderated on Wattpad so others are aware of the content? Is the app safe for readers to read stories freely?

Here are my findings on how Mature Content is moderated on Wattpad.

The rating button is found in the story details
of when your book is created.

Management of Mature Content:
The app has a rating button for stories containing Mature Content. It is expected that authors rate their Mature stories so the story has a correct audience of 17 and up and users are aware of the content they are reading. When rated, there will be a label with the word 'Mature' beside the description of the story.

Mature Content intended as: 
Explicit Sex Scenes
Self Harm
Graphic Duplications of Violence.
If the content in stories is too explicit or is rated
incorrectly, the story will be prohibited.

Observation:
On the app, I did a survey about Mature Content and got interesting responses.

20% of the users who took the survey are 15 years old. The maximum being 26 and the minimum 13 years old. They started using the app between the ages of 10 to 19.

They started Wattpad...
- to showcase their work
- to read stories
- because they were recommended the app by friends

The top genres they read are
-Romance
-FanFiction
-Short Stories
-Thrillers
-Teen Fiction
-Humour
-Fantasy

Romance and FanFiction are the most popular.

80% of the users read stories that contain mature content because it's part of the story, is amusing and shares knowledge. Whereas 20% don't because they find it uncomfortable to read and they consider themselves young and sensitive.

The main question we are focusing on is, 'Have you ever come across Mature Content without realising the story had Mature Content?'.
53% said yes and 26% said no. This confirms that more stories out there aren't rated and not suitable for those who prefer to not read inappropriate content.

What's even more interesting is that the answers come with consequences. Not only do readers get a surprise from approaching an unexpected scene but they...
- Become dirty minded
- Are traumatized and have a visual understanding of sex
- May behave in a certain way eg masturbate

A lot of users (46%) said they became dirty-minded as a consequence.

When asked if they published stories with Mature Content, 53% said they don't, 20% who are planning to publish said maybe and 20% said Yes.

For those who said Yes, I asked if they would add a warning. 100% answered yes with some stating reasons why. They wouldn't want the readers to feel uncomfortable. Adding a warning or rating their story would give a heads up and let readers continue by skipping that bit. I also found out while doing my research that some people put their own warning at the beginning of their stories because they are determined to gain the correct audience for their stories.

Interesting information I collected from this answer is that most users who publish stories may not be aware of the rating button or do not understand the use of it. Another reason may be because they intend to give their readers a surprise and not switch the rating button on. This is evident by the majority of the people who took my survey and said 'yes' to the question 'Have you come across Mature Content without realizing the story had Mature Content?' Some also claim that there was no warning in the stories that contained Mature Content.

I've also learnt from my survey that Mature Content is more likely to be found in Fanfiction and Romance. 80% read mature content because it is part of the story.

We can now confirm Wattpad has a rating button for Mature Content so readers, especially those who use the app for entertainment, can see the use of ratings. I believe Wattpad is useful to start a career, showcase ideas and to discover new knowledge.

If you're a publisher on Wattpad and planning to add a Mature scene to build-up a character relationship or the story itself, don't forget to rate your story or add a warning in the beginning. This is coming from a Wattpad reader as I use the app myself. Not everyone is going to love a surprise!

Bibliography Research:
https://www.wattpad.com/about/
https://support.wattpad.com/hc/en-us/articles/200774334