To better understand the digital ecosystem in China, including how netizens use social media, and how Chinese people think about the implications of living in a digital age, I allied myself with Xinrou Shu.
Xinrou is a former fashion writer and current freelance journalist based in China. She writes about the Internet, youth culture, and how China’s digital ecosystem affects people. Her work has appeared in award-winning publications, including South China Morning Post, Rest of World, Sixth Tone, The China Project, RadiiCo, Salon.com, and more.
Some of my main takeaway from the conversation:
In China you have to use your phone to do everything, more so than in Western countries.
Social media algorithms are strongly monitored in China, and therefore less polarizing and less differentiated. However, users on platforms such as RedNote rely heavily on euphemisms and coded language to bypass censorship restrictions.
Seniors in China are among the heaviest users of social media, namely infinite short-video scrolling in the style of TikTok. Not like western countries, where the youth are mainly exposed.
Many people were left traumatized after the COVID lockdown restrictions when they were forced to spent many weeks inside their homes, often without enough food. It was common to use WeChat for trading food coupons. Seniors in China became much more familiar with social media during the time.
Emigration spiked during and after the COVID lockdown in Shanghai, and it changed a lot of people’s view on the government.
Public institutions in China have embraced generative AI, likely more effectively than in Western countries. It’s the norm for government officials to use DeepSeek for writing daily reports and doing research.
AI companies in China, such as the the Six Tigers, are on the same mission as the major AI labs in the United States. Short term business interests are highly prioritized.
Check out Xinrou’s website 👉 https://xinroushu.com/
And find her on Xitter 👉 https://twitter.com/Xinrou6
Share this post