By now, you’ve probably heard the news that Northern America was set to have TikTok banned, causing one of the most historical social media migrations we’ve ever seen.
And they didn’t lie, for less than 24 hours the app was banned, and with that the confessions came pouring out throughout the app, coming from influencers and content creators from across the US.
In the midst of the panic the last few weeks, the social media app Xiaohongshu, which translates to 'Little Red Book' but is now being dubbed 'RedNote', saw a sudden increase in American users as the TikTok ban weighed on the US social media frontline.
More than half a million users packed their TikTok bags in a sort of act of defiance/challenge to the US government and arrived at the border of RedNote. This just proves that in numbers (and pettiness) we really can do anything (time to start putting that energy into other things no?)
They’re calling themselves “TikTok refugees” and have continued to sign up for RedNote in absolute waves, making it the most downloaded free app on Apple’s US App Store over the weekend, and users are continuing to grow every hour.
I got wind of this migration early last week while I was doom-scrolling on TikTok, and I thought to myself, “Surely this can’t be as big as it seems… no way Americans are that petty with their own government they’re moving to a foreign app rather than another US-owned social media platform?”
Turns out, the whole thing is beyond comical and the videos coming out of this situation are some of the best work I’ve seen on social media in a long time.
I’ve now spent more than a week on 'RedNote', and to be quite honest, it’s incredibly fun and surprisingly very easy to navigate around. The ability to watch your FYP literally recreate itself from scratch is very entertaining and has become the perfect opportunity for smaller content creators to build new and diverse audiences.
The Edge Nights host Cal Payne has also been trying the new platform and told me: “Once I got past the fact that I couldn't speak Mandarin or really understand anything in this app, I realised it had more to offer than I could have ever imagined.
“Because it is Chinese-owned and operated, you aren’t allowed to talk about politics (BONUS) among other things, so the app is simply about creating engaging content from lifestyle to fashion to health and wellness to just general comedy.
Also, there is ZERO brain rot - I almost feel like I'm detoxing my brain while scrolling through Rednote. Doomscrolling? BYE. Bloomscrolling? HELL YEAH.”
In the last two days, Cal’s account has grown substantially, with over 10K followers and counting, plus he's already got over 500K views.
Originally, the app launched in Shanghai as a shopping app for women, but has grown to become one of China’s most popular short video apps, accommodating over 300 million users as of July of last year.
Even users from countries that weren’t being threatened with a TikTok ban, followed their US friends over because let's be honest, there’s nothing like American humour.
Arriving at the app with TikTok dances, memes about Chinese spies, and requests for Mandarin lessons. OG Rednote users are making sure that we newcomers are following the rules, which include sending pictures of your cats and helping with homework.
The more you scroll the funnier it gets when you realise we are watching history unfold. Why are we such an unserious generation? (lol)
“It’s really all about eating, drinking and being merry,” said Ying Yin, a researcher at the University of Cyberjaya in Malaysia, who has studied Xiaohongshu’s overseas users recently.
With the app’s pivotal focus being on shopping and entertainment, means it is often active in blocking content seen as too serious for the app’s target audience.
“It won’t be like Facebook and Instagram. There are lots of topics that are banned on the platform, even things like healthcare and finance,” Yin said.
Meanwhile, the US seemed to be rethinking the TikTok ban, which began after the Supreme Court indicated that it was likely to rule in favour of a bill that would force ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to strip ownership of the app or shut down from January 19th.
TikTok, of course, challenged the bill, claiming it would “silence the speech” of Americans who use the app.
The app has played a major role in sharing important information and keeping communities connected amidst the recent devastating fires in LA, raising more questions about the potential negative impacts of a ban.
Lots of influencers and content creators made the most of what we all thought would be the final days of TikTok in the US, posting old drafts, and reconnecting with old friends, but when it came to certain confessions, some of which are quite serious, it will be quite interesting to see how this unfolds in the next week.
Looking back is quite comical, like why are we all SO dramatic?
Even with the app back in the US, RedNote is still arguably one of the most popular apps, and the content coming out of there right now is even funnier than what is happening on TikTok.
If you haven’t ventured out yet, do yourself a favour and just spend 20 minutes scrolling through to understand the hype.
