Article and Art Card by Sandra Fagerstrom
An anonymous, not so wise but strangely sincere internet user once said "Kill the part of you that cringes." And I think that's beautiful.
It's 2025, supposed to be halfway to a new decade, and yet doesn't it seem as if trends are somehow going backward? I mean, vintage fashion is in, cartoons are getting their fresh revivals (Some more successful than others), and, of course, chick lit is back in.
An article by Megan Hall defines chick lit as popular women's fiction, emphasizing the social life, relationships, and challenges of young women, sometimes with a lighter and humorous attitude; nowadays, it's nearly synonymous with the genres of romance, slice of life, and drama. And quite a few chick lit books do this as effectively (For better or for worse) than Wattpad novels.
Wattpad is a website-turned-mobile application that focuses on publishing stories written by everyday people. No longer do writers need to scour publishing houses for agents or editors; Wattpad allows everyone, and I mean everyone, the chance to bring their stories to life.
As young adults living in the Philippines, I'm sure most of us are aware of the Wattpad craze back in the early 2010s. With a large number of the books written focused on teenagers, the tales mostly told of action-packed sequences, romantic moments, and what could only be presumed as comedy back in those times.
It was personal, it was chaotic, it was…
Cringey.
But of course, it wasn't cringey for its time. After all, most of these stories were written by teenagers at the time; a feat in and of itself, all things considered. These stories catered to a very specific but very large target audience, with that being fellow teens in the country. And of course, with so many eyes on them, that warranted more than a few haters of the genre. Ranging from concerned parents watching their children experience kilig for the first time in these novels to other teenagers who jeered at the admittedly repetitive nature and sequence of the books, most people found comfort in trashing these novels. With some saying 'these books are nothing but mindless brain sugar for our kids!'
And to that I say, 'And?'
Books come in all shapes and sizes, each with their own niche use to fill. Some books are for philosophy, others for education, others for criticism- and it just so happened that these books were made for fun. They were written by lovestruck teenagers with enough imagination to fill a novel's worth of scenes. Sure, they were corny and yes, admittedly cringey. But they were definitely entertaining.
When I was younger, I was unfortunately part of the crowd that chose to ridicule these books instead of just having fun. And let me tell you, I regret missing out on that part of my life. Instead of focusing on just having fun, I was too busy acting as if all of the books that I read were peak fictional literature.
At the beginning of this article, I mentioned how there was a sort of revival happening around these novels. Thanks to indie authors making a comeback on Wattpad, studios and larger audiences are once again looking back on these old stories and now armed with new knowledge, are able to recognize the cringey aspects of these tales, and how they're completely unrealistic.
And they're loving it.
Wattpad adaptations were common in the form of films such as 'She's Dating The Gangster' and 'Diary Ng Panget', but thanks to the new digital boom, Wattpad adaptations are coming quicker and quicker. One such adaptation is, of course, the 'University Series', with another being the now trending 'Ang Mutya Ng Section E' thanks to its infamous dance scene. You know the one, you've been on TikTok.
Let’s be honest-- Filipino Wattpad books are the breeding ground of peak cringe, and honestly? That’s what makes them so fun. Where else can you find a mafia boss falling for a clumsy schoolgirl, or a billionaire CEO secretly being a campus heartthrob? These stories thrive on over-the-top drama, exaggerated plot twists, and dialogue that sounds like it came straight from a teleserye script—because, well, sometimes it did. After all, it was teenagers that wrote them, and teenagers that enjoyed them. And while people love to poke fun at them, there’s something undeniably entertaining about reading a story where every chapter ends with a life-changing revelation, a mysterious long-lost twin, or a lead couple arguing in deep Tagalog before passionately making up in the rain...or in the school hallway, your choice.
Instead of wincing at the cringe, maybe it’s time we embrace it. There’s a certain charm in the wild storytelling, the way Filipino Wattpad books create their own world where surnames have to be intimidating, and every leading man is either a playboy with trauma or a bad boy with trauma. Sometimes both; the trauma is a requirement in these kinds of stories, not the identity.
How else are you going to break down the male lead's walls? These books aren’t just about the cheesiness; they’re a celebration of passion, creativity, and the joy of storytelling without fear of judgment. So go ahead—reread your old, doggy-eared book from 2013, proudly flex your author phase, and, of course, binge-watch the newest releases filled with lovesick songs and corny dances. Life’s too short to pretend to be serious after all.
So go forth, my fellow readers; be cringe, and be free.
