Wattpad in Youth Literature Based on the Experiences of Turkish Teachers and Secondary School Students

This study aims to discover the view, opinion, perception and experiences of Turkish teachers and secondary school students towards Wattpad, an online literacy community, to interpret them educationally, to determine the reasons for their use and to interpret the main plot of youth literature on the axis of changing reading perception/behavior and expectations of youth. It is foreseen that the study has comparatively discussed literature-education and new reading types on the axis of the teacher and student, the direct participants of learning-teaching within this scope, and therefore fills the gap in the literature. The research design is phenomenology, one of the qualitative research designs. Data obtained through semi-structured interviews from Turkish teachers and secondary school students were subjected to content analysis. The findings of the study are as follows: Youth enjoy spending long time on Wattpad via their phones and feel themselves free. They think that the application develops reading and writing habits; read and write mainly about love and science fiction; prefer digital reading over printed books and/or classics; comment and criticize books/articles with their peers. Turkish teachers have educational concerns and do not find appropriate for youth to spend time on this platform; because it includes violence, sexuality etc. Therefore, it can be said that there is a conflict and a difference of opinion between teachers and youth.