American netizens rush to learn Chinese because "top top" is banned, Chinese social networks are about to "fall"?

Recently, there was a rumor that Tiktok would "leave" the US market, TikTokers quickly found a new destination by downloading the official Chinese app. Many people even encouraged each other to learn Chinese by using the Douyin and Xiaohongshu apps.

Chinese social media app RedNote (Xiaohongshu in China) has risen to the No. 1 spot on Apple’s App Store, amid concerns about TikTok’s impending ban in the U.S. As of Monday, RedNote topped the App Store’s free app chart, followed by Lemon8 (TikTok’s photo-sharing app) and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Some TikTok creators are planning to switch to RedNote as a backup. A user named allieusyaps posted on Monday that while it's "okay" if TikTok is banned in the US, he and other TikTok creators "won't be going back to Instagram and Facebook" because they're on RedNote. "I might lose my job next week, but we're about to learn Mandarin, baby!" the user wrote.

Another TikTok creator named Krystan Walmsley posted a short video showing people how to set up and decorate a RedNote account. “The app is really cute and it’s been fun so far,” Walmsley said.

Many TikTok creators are scrambling to find alternative platforms as they wait for developments on TikTok, which faces a potential ban in the U.S. on Jan. 19. The Supreme Court heard arguments last week on a law passed in April that set the stage for the ban, and appeared to lean toward the U.S. government’s argument that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk.

While short-video apps are in a precarious position, fellow social networks are benefiting. Xiaohongshu is considered China’s Instagram, combining photos, videos and life updates. This week, it became the most downloaded free app on iOS and entered the top 10 of the Google Play store in the US for the first time. Many users call themselves “TikTok refugees” when they join Xiaohongshu.

Launched in 2013 in Shanghai, Xiaohongshu has been widely used by overseas Chinese-speaking communities. Xiaohongshu means "little red book" in Mandarin. Many people call the app "Red Note". "I really don't care whether I use Chinese apps or not. It's like a place for me to escape from reality. If it makes me feel comfortable, I'll keep using it," said one person, adding that their interest in Xiaohongshu was not encouraged by any company.

It also has an English version. Xiaohongshu’s popularity in the social media market has spawned a number of similar apps, one of which is ByteDance’s Lemon8. According to data from analytics firm Sensor Tower, downloads of Lemon8 on both iOS and Android tripled last week. At one point on January 13, it topped the free iPhone app charts.

Americans on Xiaohongshu have banded together under the hashtag “TikTokrefugee.” The hashtag has now been viewed 100 million times and has generated about 2.5 million discussion threads on the app. Joining the new app puts American users in closer contact with their Chinese followers. In China, people often use Douyin, an app very similar to the one ByteDance uses to develop the technology for TikTok. However, Douyin is difficult to access outside of China. Many people have shared how to use the new app. Some have taken screenshots and asked ChatGPT to translate the posts.

TikTok, which is available in more than 150 countries outside China, is owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance. American creators who post videos on TikTok say the app has become a source of connection, entertainment and information since it became a phenomenon during the Covid-19 pandemic. The secret lies in its proprietary algorithm, which recommends a continuous stream of short videos aimed at keeping people scrolling.