On the mainland social platform Douyin, Taiwanese artist Liu Genghong, who is doing fitness live broadcasts, has become popular, and has set off a wave of fitness craze with young people.
In Taiwan, the influence of TikTok (the overseas version of Douyin) is no less impressive. According to statistics, its monthly active users are as high as 3 million.
With the rapid development of Internet technology in mainland China, many social applications have emerged in the online world and have a large number of "fans".
More and more young people in Taiwan have also become attached to these software, and some have become content creators. They have found a big stage for "cloud" interaction and display their talents in cross-strait exchanges, which is vividly called "cloud landing".
Loyal fans"
Lin Yichen, an elementary school teacher from Taiwan, said that the students in her class started getting in touch with mobile phones and the Internet very early. "When the TikTok music starts, almost the whole class can follow along." She clicked on a video and the whole class responded.
It can be seen that TikTok is popular on the island.
Xiaohongshu topped the list of popular apps on the Google Play Store in Taiwan, with more than 5 million downloads.
"The subject matter is rich and easy to 'brush', creative enough to keep up with the trend", Ting Xuan from Kaohsiung summed up the reason why she downloaded Xiaohongshu.
Ting Xuan, 25, is a typical representative of netizens on the island.
Like her, Taiwan's "Gen Z" is becoming a loyal "fan" of mainland social software.
As young people born between 1995 and 2009, they are greatly influenced by digital information technology, instant communication equipment, smart phone products, etc., so they are also called "net generation", "Internet generation", "second generation" or "the second generation". Digital Media Indigenous".
According to survey data released by Taiwanese media, nearly 70% of TikTok's monthly active users are under the age of 24, and the highest proportion of Xiaohongshu users are 18 to 24 years old.
According to statistics, in addition to Douyin and Xiaohongshu, the mainland mobile software that Taiwanese young people love to use include Sina Weibo, WeChat, Taobao, Tencent, Bilibili, iQiyi, Baidu Baike and Zhihu.
According to Taiwan's United News Network, chasing mainland film and television dramas, watching mainland stars and variety shows, swiping station B or Douyin, and chatting about beauty tutorials on Xiaohongshu has become a daily routine for Taiwan's "Gen Z".
In the eyes of "Gen Z" young people, fun and usefulness are the labels that come with Xiaohongshu.
There are many people of the same age who will recommend good-looking comics, as well as teaching on editing photos, until how to tie hair, wear clothes and make-up. "It's really an encyclopedia!" Taiwan's "Wind Media" said that Taiwanese young people have been removed from the Meta company. Its social media "photo wall" was transferred to Xiaohongshu, and the photo wall was ridiculed as "played by the elderly".
shorten the distance
In Ting Xuan's view, Taiwan is a highly entertaining society, and this attribute makes it inevitable for Douyin and Xiaohongshu to become popular on the island.
For example, she cited a friend who downloaded Douyin from a funny video.
Entertainment information and various interesting videos are also topics that young people on both sides of the strait are talking about.
Zhang Hongyuan, an associate professor at the Department of International Trade at Chili University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, said that young people on both sides of the strait are connected with each other in terms of taste and emotion in food, clothing, housing, transportation, and popular culture.
Most of the videos that Taiwanese young people watch on TikTok are also available on the mainland version of Douyin.
It is precisely because of this commonality of content that many young Taiwanese have never been to the mainland before, but they are familiar with the popular mobile phone software in the mainland and are familiar with all kinds of buzzwords on the mainland Internet.
Influenced by the online community culture shaped by Xiaohongshu and others, "Konjac Shuang", a snack that mainland primary school students like to eat, has also sparked heated discussions among young people across the island.
"Gen Z" young people are born to seamlessly connect with the Internet information age, and are extremely sensitive to Internet pop culture and information.
This period coincided with the rapid development of Internet technology and culture in the mainland. Many Taiwanese teenagers naturally began to use mainland Internet social platforms. Even if they have not been to the mainland, it does not prevent them from being keen on "cloud landing".
"Cloud landing" has made more and more common words among young people on both sides of the strait.
Through these softwares, young people in Taiwan have increased their attention and curiosity towards the mainland, and many people have the idea of traveling, studying or working in the mainland.
Wan Wan, who originally worked in Taipei, chose to land westward a few years ago.
Today, she is a well-known self-media person on Xiaohongshu and Douyin, with nearly 200,000 fans.
"The content I share mostly focuses on the similarities and differences of life on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and I also have personal experience." Wan Wan said that the comment area often received warm responses from mainland netizens, and some Taiwanese netizens sent private messages to inquire about the development of the mainland.
Living in the Internet age, the distance between young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait has been "closer" by social media software.
in the ascendant
However, in the eyes of the DPP authorities and "Taiwan independence" politicians, these social apps from the mainland have become beasts.
DPP "legislator" Lin Chuyin recently opened fire on mainland social media such as Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Xigua Video when questioning the Taiwan legislature, attacking the mainland for "performing cognitive warfare" through the so-called "life-oriented approach" .
Then he posted on Facebook again, mentioning the “transformation of the penetration mode” in the mainland, and warned young people that they could be “infiltrated at any time” when they go online.
In this regard, Zhu Songling, a professor at Beijing Union University, analyzed that in the "information cocoon" woven by the DPP authorities, the image of the mainland is closed and negative. "If young people can see the real situation in the mainland through social software, the democratic progress How can the party and the 'independence' faction continue to fool the people?"
"Online penetration theory" has not spread far, and soon ushered in a 180-degree reversal.
Lin Chuyin was exposed by netizens that she has a Douyin account herself, and filled in the self-introduction as "news anchor, show host".
I have to put everything on the line, but I slapped myself in the face.
Some netizens on the island clearly stated that they chose Xiaohongshu simply because it is easy to use, watching videos, checking materials, the content has nothing to do with politics, and they did not feel any "United Front" when using it.
Xiao Wang, a student at Taiwan Air University, said that some politicians on the island like to make fuss about the mainland and deprive them of their hats.
Taiwanese media commented that Taiwanese young people have a high degree of acceptance of mainland social platforms. Through new media platforms, young friends from both sides of the strait can get to know and understand each other more. Over time, a new trend of cross-strait integration and development will be formed.
This objective and rational voice is being recognized by more and more young people on the island.
"When the epidemic is over, I want to take my husband back to Taiwan and shoot a short film from his perspective as a mainlander to help more mainland friends understand and like Taiwan," Wan Wan said.
Ren Chengqi