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My thoughts about life and America/China after using this app

This app has opened me up to a new way of thinking. Honestly, I am humbled by how much I didn’t know about Chinese culture. I like to think of myself as a decently informed person with cultural competence, and I think I am more globally aware than most Americans (which doesn’t say much lol). I like to research countries, but I never really cared about China. I knew it had 1.4 billion people, but it didn’t register to me just how many people that was. That’s so many people who are living a life with completely different mindsets and values to the western world I was brought up in. I went in very guarded and suspicious of “Chinese propaganda,” expecting them to aggressively instill their way of life onto me, because if it was the other way around, that’s exactly what Americans would do. I also went in arrogant, thinking us Americans would show the Chinese people what it’s like to live in a “free society.” Instead, I encountered some of the most rational, intelligent discussions I’ve ever seen online. The Chinese language is so poetic and intricate, at least that’s my impression from reading English translations. I was met with so much warmth, rationality, and calmness. I broke down in tears. I have never felt so safe in an Internet space before. Their musings about harmony and connection touched my heart as someone who lives in a nation of distrust and division. And I know it doesn’t show the whole China. There are probably bad parts I’m not seeing. I think there are things they could learn from us as well. I think a good nation needs to have a balance of individualistic and collectivistic qualities. Coming from the U.S., seeing a nation that is so united is beautiful.

Before you Ask, No it's not Chinese Propaganda

Disclaimer: I'm a Chinese, living in the US. I've lived in both countries for more than 15 years each. Rednote/xiaohongshu (xhs)/小红书 is an app that came out in 2013. It's built by a Chinese company, for the Chinese both in mainland China and oversea Chinese. The app used to be in Chinese only, and it didn't support English localization until recently. A very common question I see on reddit or tiktok is whether all these Chinese posts from xhs are propaganda or not. The short answer is no. However, the long answer is more nuanced. Let's break it down. 1. The platform initially was built for oversea Chinese for shopping. That's it, its initial focus was not to be a huge social network platform. However, almost all apps in China wants to be a social platform for some reason. So xhs also has these features. So from the beginning, the app is not built to spread communist propaganda. 2. About 80% of the users are female (I forget where I get this data from, so I could be wrong). Lots of them are living average lives. I've been a user for 5-6 years, and I've seen posts ranging from "how to deal with disagreements between wife and inlaws" to "how to study abroad" to "look at this new <insert a luxury brand> bag that I bought" to "the best/worst Chinese restaurant in Seattle/SF/LA". Of course, there are a bunch of brainrot contents as well, tho not as prevalent as other Chinese platforms. There are topics about anime, daily lives, college dorm drama, stupid people showing off, travel tips, travel vlogs, anything really. Depending on what you click on, you get served different contents. 3. Why do you only or mostly see positive things so far? It's the algorithm again. You don't know the language, so you probably don't know which posts are talking about bad things or the usual drama stuff. In my FYP, there are still many posts about users complaining about all aspects of their lives. The ML algorithm will group people by their characteristics. For example, you are joining from the US, and you clicked on some tiktok refugee posts, and the algorithm learns that. It will say that oh, you are probably interested in the topics that other people from the US like/read/watch. 4. There is another side to the "only seeing positive things". Chinese people are trying to be friendly and welcoming. It's Chinese tradition to not show the ugly business to the guests. So, in a way, that creates a skewed perception for the guests (you). However, you need to remember, there are 1.4 billions people there. They are individuals with their individual experiences. The idea you get from the aggregate is probably somewhere slight above average. This is due to people with worst than average lives are less likely to post. However, I don't think that constitutes propaganda. From a statistical standpoint, this is just the sample population doesn't match the normal distribution of the whole Chinese population. 5. There are Chinese people who likes and hates China, just like any other country. However, I want to call out that because the US views China as its adversary, it puts a lot of effort in smearing China's image. This effort includes supporting the now outlawed religious group (Falun Gong) and its media outlet Epoch Times, NTD and a bunch of YouTubers. Specifically, I want to call out "China Insider" "China Observer" and "Serpentza". These channels spew out misinformation like none other. The things they talk about doesn't reflect my personal experience at all. All this is to say, you will see Chinese/others who will tell you this is all Chinese propaganda, and people who don't. Then how do you know who's right? I recommend traveling to China or talking to Chinese nationals around you to see what their perspectives are. 6. Last but not the least. The way the rednote gets popular is totally an unexpected event, both from the Chinese and American side. With the sudden influx of American users, I don't think anyone really had any idea how this was going to end. Since all the content on the platform are there for anyone to view, I don't think it's realistic to change what's being seen without its existing user base noticing. In conclusion, are the things you see on the platform real? Yes, most of them are real Chinese people posting real stuff, with some exceptions of ads and people heavily using filters (this is a huge thing on Chinese Internet, and we often jokes about that). Are the cars and sky scrapers real and the scenery and the grocery hauls and house tours real? Yes they are but remember, there are 1.4 billion Chinese. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Have a fun time asking them about social credit

The real face without makeup. Be cautious in what you see in the livestreams.

As a man that cannot distinguish between the woman that has makeup or not this is shocking. Be cautious in what you watch. I'm watching just to be entertained. Watching a fake is not what I want, nor is it what anyone else wants

I got shadow banned on rednote and I don't know why

I was just talking to someone then I got banned. I reached out to their customer support but they said I have to fix it in app and they mentioned that they can't disclose the reason why I was banned. I tried appealing twice, but tbh I don't even know what reason I should give except saying" I didn't even know what I did, I was just talking to someone then I got banned" both appeals were rejected. Does anybody know how to fix this? or what to say?

People get banned for "not" speaking mandarin?

I am new to red note. I join groups where hobbyist musicians take turns singing/performing on their musical instruments. I do not know how to speak Mandarin. But I can speak English and Cantonese. One time, the host of the music group said Red Note sent her a warning that the group was speaking too much English. So then everyone quickly switched to Mandarin, at which point, I didn't understand anything other than simple things like "it's your turn to perform". Can someone explain to me what actually happens when you speak English on rednote? Is that a very dangerous ting to do? And what if I speak Cantonese? Some of the groups I join have cantonese speakers. Is speaking Cantonese also very dangerous on red note? I'm not sure what I can or can't do, and what happens if i speak too much english/cantonese. Any insight will help, thank you