This reminded me of my opposite unpopular opinion! lol
I used to be a huge snob about fan fiction, which I feel terrible about now.
Aside from fanfiction about real people, I think it can be a great hobby and deserves less hate. There's a lot of people out there who put their blood, sweat, and tears into what they're creating as if it was their own. In fact, fan fiction has been around a lot longer than we give it credit for. It didn't just poof into existence just because of Wattpad!
And I know it's super easy to find fan fiction that's explicit and embarrassing. But it's also easy to find traditionally published work that's just as bad.