“Wattymania": Wattpad Readers’ Perspective on Wattpad's Role in Their Lives

Abstract

Wattpad thrives in the Philippines, boasting over 5 million usersThis study explored the implications of reading Wattpad stories among readers at UM Digos College. The study used a phenomenological descriptive research design and Colaizzi’s method of thematic analysis to explore the perceptions of readers regarding the reasons, motivations, and roles of Wattpad in their lives. The study found that there are seven emergent themes: enjoyment and satisfaction, life's inspiration, satisfying curiosity, providing excitement, developing empathy, convenience reading, and life lessons as participants reasons for reading Wattpad stories. It was also reported that the impact of the characters, relatable stories and scenes, emotional appeal, and being influenced by friends and family were reasons for people to engage themselves more in continuing to read Wattpad stories. Furthermore, the study also showed that they perceive Wattpad as a source of providing moral lessons, motivation to write, providing comfort, emotional awareness, being influential to living, grammatical awareness, and stress relieving. The study's findings suggest using Wattpad-like content to enhance learning and guide students towards responsible reading habits. Further, school stakeholders can integrate Wattpad stories as contemporary literary text subject in language courses.