Xiaohongshu in the Shadow of the TikTok Ban: From “Refugees of Douyin” to a Bridge for Sino-Western Cultural Exchange – You Find Pte. Ltd.

This article will explore the rise of Xiaohongshu under the TikTok ban and its impact on Sino-Western cultural exchange, analyzing the TikTok ban, the rise of Xiaohongshu, and TikTok usage strategies and techniques. The Shockwave of the TikTok Ban: Opportunities and Challenges In recent years, TikTok has gained global popularity with its short video content …

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Xiaohongshu in the Shadow of the TikTok Ban: From “Refugees of Douyin” to a Bridge for Sino-Western Cultural Exchange

Thu January 16, 2025

Xiaohongshu in the Shadow of the TikTok Ban

This article will explore the rise of Xiaohongshu under the TikTok ban and its impact on Sino-Western cultural exchange, analyzing the TikTok ban, the rise of Xiaohongshu, and TikTok usage strategies and techniques.

The Shockwave of the TikTok Ban: Opportunities and Challenges

In recent years, TikTok has gained global popularity with its short video content and algorithmic recommendation system, achieving tremendous success, especially among younger demographics. However, its parent company ByteDance’s Chinese background has raised concerns among Western countries, led by the United States, regarding data security and national security. The U.S. government, citing “national security” reasons, has imposed a series of restrictions on TikTok, even demanding that ByteDance sell TikTok’s U.S. operations. The U.S. government has banned federal agencies from using TikTok and required federal employees to delete the app from government devices within 30 days. The U.S. Congress passed a forced sale order for TikTok, requiring ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations by January 19. The U.S. Supreme Court will make a final ruling on January 19, which will determine TikTok’s ultimate fate. If the ban takes effect, TikTok will be removed from Apple and Google’s app stores. This will prevent new users from downloading the app, and existing users will no longer receive security patches or feature updates. Over time, the app may become unusable. Reports suggest that ByteDance plans to proactively shut down the app for its 170 million U.S. users on January 19, the deadline for the U.S. “sell or ban” law, to demonstrate the ban’s impact. TikTok plans to allow users to download all their data to retain personal information records. As of now, TikTok has not responded to these reports.

The TikTok ban has multiple impacts on the global internet, technological innovation, and international cooperation

Damaging the openness and freedom of the global internet: The TikTok ban artificially creates barriers, fragmenting the internet into different camps, contradicting the open and interconnected nature of the internet.

Hindering technological innovation and international cooperation: Technological innovation requires global collaboration and exchange. The TikTok ban restricts Chinese tech companies from participating in international competition, harming the global tech industry.

Exacerbating distrust and confrontation between nations: The TikTok ban intensifies tensions between China and the U.S., potentially prompting other countries to follow suit, leading to a fragmented global digital governance system.

However, the TikTok ban also presents opportunities for other social platforms, particularly Chinese social apps. Xiaohongshu, a platform known for its “grass-planting” culture and community atmosphere, has unexpectedly become a haven for “TikTok Refugee.”

The Rise of Xiaohongshu: Precise Positioning and Content Ecosystem

Xiaohongshu’s features encompass content sharing, community interaction, e-commerce, and local life services. Its success can be attributed to several factors:

Precise user targeting: Xiaohongshu’s target users are young women, and its content and features revolve around the needs and interests of female users.

High-quality content ecosystem: Xiaohongshu encourages users to create high-quality original content and uses algorithmic recommendations to push quality content to target users. This is similar to TikTok’s strategy of adjusting posting times and content based on the target audience and platform algorithms to achieve better exposure and engagement. For example, TikTok’s optimal posting times are:

  • Weekdays: 12 PM to 2 PM and 8 PM to 10 PM.
  • Weekends: 4 PM to 9 PM.
  • Creators should also adjust posting times based on their target audience. For instance, if the target audience is primarily students, posting after school hours may be more effective.

Active community atmosphere: Xiaohongshu users frequently interact, forming a unique “grass-planting” culture where users willingly share their experiences and shopping tips, influencing and recommending products to each other.

The rise of Xiaohongshu provides a new window for Chinese cultural export. Its content covers various aspects of Chinese life, offering overseas users a new way to understand Chinese culture. Xiaohongshu’s community interactions also promote exchanges and understanding between Chinese and foreign users, helping to eliminate cultural biases and misunderstandings.

The Journey of “TikTok Refugee”: From Curiosity to Cultural Identity

The influx of “TikTok Refugee” into Xiaohongshu reflects their complex psychological state. They may be protesting the TikTok ban, expressing curiosity about Chinese culture, or finding content and communities they are interested in on Xiaohongshu. The psychology of “TikTok Refugee” is multifaceted, likely influenced by multiple factors. On one hand, they may be protesting the TikTok ban by choosing Xiaohongshu to express dissatisfaction with the U.S. government. On the other hand, they may be curious about Chinese culture, hoping to learn about Chinese trends and lifestyles through Xiaohongshu. Some “TikTok Refugee” may have found content and communities they enjoy on Xiaohongshu, leading them to stay.

The influx of “TikTok Refugee” brings new opportunities for Sino-Western cultural exchange. Their interactions with Chinese users can promote mutual understanding and respect, helping to break down cultural barriers and create a more equal and inclusive cultural exchange environment. For example, on Xiaohongshu, interesting phenomena have emerged, such as Chinese and American users learning each other’s languages, sharing daily lives, and experiencing cultural differences. Some American users have started learning Chinese on Xiaohongshu, asking Chinese users for help in the comments section, while some Chinese users enthusiastically provide learning tips, with even elementary school students offering to help with English homework. American users have also started sharing their daily lives on Xiaohongshu, such as food, travel, and fashion. Due to cultural differences, interactions between Chinese and American users on Xiaohongshu have led to some interesting cultural clashes. For instance, some American users are surprised by the warmth and friendliness of Chinese users, while some Chinese users find American users’ humor and directness refreshing. These phenomena indicate that Xiaohongshu not only provides a new social platform for American users but also creates new opportunities for Sino-American cultural exchange.

Xiaohongshu: A Bridge for Sino-Western Cultural Exchange

The rise of Xiaohongshu has made it a bridge for Sino-Western cultural exchange. On this platform, Chinese and Western users can share their cultures, lifestyles, and values, promoting mutual understanding and respect. However, Xiaohongshu also faces challenges, such as overcoming cultural differences, avoiding cultural misunderstandings, and competing in overseas markets.

To better promote Sino-Western cultural exchange, Xiaohongshu can learn from TikTok’s usage techniques, such as:

Understanding the cultural background and interests of the target audience to create content that aligns with their preferences. For example, Singapore’s TikTok user base is highly diverse, with a significant portion being young people and teenagers active on social media.

Leveraging the platform’s algorithmic recommendation system to push quality content to target users. Creators should use TikTok’s analytics tools, which provide valuable data on follower activity times, allowing creators to schedule posts accordingly.

Encouraging user interaction and communication to foster an active community atmosphere. Creators should engage with fans by replying to comments and private messages to strengthen connections with their audience.

Enhancing the platform’s international operations by offering multilingual support and localized services. TikTok already supports multiple languages, including English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

Cultural Boundaries in the Digital Age

The TikTok ban, the rise of Xiaohongshu, and the phenomenon of “TikTok Refugee” are microcosms of cultural exchange in the digital age. These events demonstrate that in the digital era, cultural dissemination is faster, broader, and more influential, yet also more complex and diverse. Faced with the trends of cultural exchange in the digital age, we should actively embrace change, using digital technology to promote communication and integration between different cultures. At the same time, we must remain vigilant about the risks and challenges posed by digital technology, such as cultural hegemony, information bubbles, and cybersecurity issues.

In the digital age, cultural boundaries are dissolving. Only by strengthening dialogue, enhancing understanding, and eliminating biases can we build a more harmonious, inclusive, and diverse cultural exchange environment, allowing different cultures to develop together through communication and collision, contributing to the progress of human civilization. 

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