Wattpad Review: Is It Really Safe for Kids?

What is Wattpad?

This is an online social network app that allows users to share their writing work with other readers. Among the genres you can find here are short stories, books, poems, among other reading materials. When it comes to users, this site is open to all those who enjoy writing and reading. Once you sign up on Wattpad, you just need to create a profile, and off you go. You can immediately start writing and reading! Furthermore, you can, henceforth, edit your production whenever another slight idea comes to mind.

When it comes to its usage, Wattpad is easily accessible through the web, client applications, and mobile sites. The registration process is also a walk in the park. Once you are a user, you have a profile from where you can share your stories, photos, and other information about what you like. Hence, this interactive platform gives you the pleasure to meet all people of walks, receive comments as well as make your comments on other's stories.

What age is Wattpad appropriate for?

The recommended age for Whattpaders is 13+ years. But this has left a lot of queries for how this site regulates what is appropriate for a 13-year-old kid. There is no proper mechanism to control what someone writes or reads once he or she joins the bandwagon. Hence, there is even a greater possibility for one to read what is beyond her/his reading age. Even though this may encourage a user to draw towards the line of an author, it could also expose a user to several dangers.

So, is Wattpad safe for kids?

Wattpad brings about the best idea so far. Building a reading and writing culture are meant to have lots of pros than cons. However, it depends on how a user utilizes this app. This is not the case with this app. The cons are more driven to the kids than the pros. Kids get exposed to other content that is not suitable for their ages. Let's uncover some of the viable dangers that your kid can easily face while on the go with Wattpad.

Main dangers of Wattpad:

1. Cyberbullying

Wattpad is an open site that is easy to sign up and create a profile. And once you are a member, there are greater opportunities to meet several users. It is amid such meetings that kids experience cyberbullying from unkind users.

2. Identity theft

This app also promotes members following one another. It is, therefore, easy for someone to use your profile in the pretense that they are the real owners. With this, it becomes a brooding point for any stranger to easily pose as you and end up extorting valuables from those who seem to know you well. This may also put your kid in danger of mistaken identity when such a mischievous occurrence happens.

3. Pornography

Where there are strangers, there are potential risks of pornographic materials circulating. Your kid is, therefore, at a high risk of bumping into illicit materials from unscrupulous individuals. Such people may also lure them into immoral acts like sexuality.

4. Addiction

Another obvious effect is an addiction to the screen. Writing and reading may be addictive, especially if your kid finds interesting books and stories to keep glued to. Remember, they need to create time for studies, sleep, and other activities. So, when a kid becomes addicted to reading or writing, it is a big concern, especially on his proper development.

5. Online predators

Since this site encourages interaction between users, you never know who your child will accidentally meet online. Many predators are hovering around to lure kids into other ill-mannered behaviors like sexuality and drug abuse.

Parents' reviews and news to Wattpad on Common Sense Media:

1. Violence

Many parents thought that it was for the better to encourage their kids to join Wattpad, but it has been surrounded by violent acts, as one parent reports.

2. Sexuality

There are also reports of horrific sexual acts by some parents. And given that kids of age 13 can sign up, many young girls are sexually violated by online predators.

3. Cyberbullying

One parent reported that her daughter got very mean comments from some rude individuals. He noticed that the app doesn't have filters as it claims.

4. Drinking and drug abuse

This is an open site that any unscrupulous individual can take advantage of innocent users. A parent discovered that her son is being introduced to drug abuse by a lone user in the system.

What are the bad effects of reading Wattpad?

1. Even though Wattpad opens doors to up-coming writers to show their writing skills, it is also a hub for bad users. Members have open doors to post and read any content. So, everyone can easily access any work, including explicit content from online predators.

2. The site also encourages interaction between members. Furthermore, once you post your writings, you can get comments either publicly or privately. Sending private messages encourages the promotion of illicit content from predators. Likewise, it becomes easy for other drug addicts to lure you into drinking or drug abuse while hiding behind the private message feedbacks.

3. The other bad effect is that your location is easily visible to other users. And if you don't delete it in the Settings option, predators can easily track your kid's locality and lure them into other mischievous behaviors like drug trafficking.

How can parents do for better Wattpad parental controls?

Given the magnitude of Wattpad concerns, it is high time parents take the bull by the horn and control what their kids can access on this site.

1. Let your kids know what to share

As a parent, you should enlighten your kids on what they should not share on such an app. Let them know that personal information like addresses and credit card information should remain discreet on such a platform. By this, they can only share their writings and comments without being open to the strangers they meet on the site.

2. Check out their privacy settings

You can also ensure that the privacy setting is set to conceal any confidential information about your child. Such settings can include only friends to comment on your kid's projects to prevent cyberbullying. Setting privacy will also prevent predators from luring your kid to sexual and drug users.

3. Use parental control mechanism

Another way to prevent your kid from internet harm is to use a third-party tool such as the FamiSafe parental control app. With this, you'll be able to prevent online predators from coming across your child's online life. Besides, you'll also track your child's progress via the screen time control feature.

How can FamiSafe help you with better Wattpad parental controls?

To better understand how FamiSafe is going to help you apply parental control on the Wattpad app, let's have a glance at the supported features of FamiSafe.

1. Web filter

This feature is at the forefront of showing you which browser history your kid visits. It then becomes easy to know the content they are watching. With this, you can control what you think is inappropriate, depending on your kid's age. Furthermore, you can block websites that promote pornographic content and other sexual activities, as well as other illegal acts like drug abuse and gambling. Parents can also block specific websites manually to prevent kids from accessing information that is not for their age.

2. App Blocker

This feature will open your eyes to the apps that your child uses. It also gives you the authority to block any app that you don't want your kid to be associated with. Parents can block the Wattpad app to restrict kid's usage. Besides knowing the apps they use, you will also receive instant warnings when your kid tries to open any blocked app.

3. Activity Report

As a parent, you need to be keen on what your child does for the entire day or week. The activity report will help you manage how your kid spends their day once you know their daily app activity. Besides, you'll also know which apps your kid uses most of the time. So by this report, you can decide what app is good for them and which ones cause instability in their normal life.

The online world comes with both the bad and the good. It needs keenness for most parents to keep pace with the trending technology. Wattpad is not an exception when it comes to going online and performing all the talks, writes, and reads. Even though this app allows kids to air their views by writing short stories and other books, it also acts as a haven for perpetrators.

Therefore, the concern of most parents to keep their kids safe from acts like cyberbullying, online predators, drug traffickers, and other sexual perversions. It is not safe to leave kids to such apps all by themselves. Take control and put in parental control app in place to help you out. FamiSafe has all the capability to help keep your kid safe online. Simply explore its features and have your peace of mind even when you are away from home.