Stranger Danger on Xiaohongshu and Beyond

Admin — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 05:00:31 +0000

It’s as if overnight Xiaohongshu has seen a sudden and remarkable surge in popularity. While it offers a platform for sharing fashion, beauty, travel, and lifestyle tips, this newfound popularity also brings to light the importance of internet safety for kids using such apps. The group chat function is a great way for kids to practice different languages and discuss topics they’re interested in, but it comes with a ton of dangers of its own. After just spending 20 minutes in a group, I heard a young girl excitedly say, “I’ll be in Malaysia next month. We can meet up.” And that was when I chimed in with a quick, “Please don’t meet up with strangers you meet online.” Sometimes even our brightest teens can forget that the safe environment that they may live in doesn’t extend to the entire internet.

As parents, it’s crucial to be aware of the potential risks and take proactive steps to safeguard our children. This is why giving our kids a refresher course on internet safety, particularly when engaging with others on social media platforms like Xiaohongshu, is a necessity.

The digital world is an integral part of our children’s lives. It has opened up a world of connections, allowing kids to interact with friends, share experiences, and discover new interests. However, this virtual playground also harbors numerous risks that parents cannot afford to ignore.

Social media platforms, including Xiaohongshu, are filled with strangers, some of whom may have malicious intent. Children may unknowingly share personal information such as their full name, address, school name, or even their daily or upcoming schedules. This information can be exploited by predators, putting them in real-world danger. For example, a child might talk about or post about their upcoming school trip on Xiaohongshu, and a person with ill-intentions could use this information to track their whereabouts.

Then there’s online bullying. Kids may receive hurtful messages, mean comments, or be excluded from virtual groups, which can have a devastating impact on their mental health and self-esteem.

Take the time to talk to your kids or give them a refresher course on internet safety.

1. Privacy Is Paramount

Teach Privacy Settings: Parents must show their kids how to navigate the privacy settings on Xiaohongshu. Explain that they can access the settings menu, usually found in the profile section, and adjust who can see their posts, stories, and personal information. Remind them that public posts can be seen by anyone, including those with bad intentions.

Limit Personal Information Sharing: Stress that under no circumstances should they share sensitive personal details like their home address, phone number, or the name of their school on Xiaohongshu. A simple rule could be: If they wouldn’t share it with a random person on the street, they shouldn’t share it online.

2. Friending With Caution

Verify Before Accepting: Instruct kids to be extremely cautious when accepting friend requests from people they don’t know in real life. For Xiaohongshu, remind them that just because someone has an attractive profile filled with trendy posts doesn’t mean they are trustworthy.

3. Recognizing and Responding To Inappropriate Content

Spotting Red Flags: Teach kids to recognize inappropriate content such as explicit images, vulgar language, or posts that promote dangerous behaviors.
How To React: Explain that if they come across any inappropriate content or receive disturbing messages, they should not engage. Instead, they should immediately block the user, report the content to the platform, and inform a parent or a trusted adult.

Most importantly, remind your kids that it’s never too late to ask for your help. By arming our children with this knowledge through regular internet safety refresher courses, we can help them navigate the digital world, especially platforms like Xiaohongshu, more safely and securely.

Images: Xiaohongshu

So, who are some of the people on Xiaohongshu and what do they use it for? Let’s dive into the reasons behind Xiaohongshu’s widespread appeal by sharing perspectives from a Chinese-speaking teen from Beijing City International School and an English-speaking adult from the US, both highlighting how this platform has become an indispensable part of their daily lives.

Our 14-year-old summer intern Margaret Yang from Beijing City International School shares why she loves Xiaohongshu.

Other than WeChat channels, the sole other entertainment platform I use is Xiaohongshu. For me, I mainly use it as a way to relax and entertain myself with content I like, which mainly involves food and recipes, video clips, characters from Inside Out 2, and Taylor Swift memes and pictures. I love using it to kill time.

As a Gen Z, I witnessed the entire process of Xiaohongshu’s rise – from an app that has small fame and usage to something that every single one of my friends and peers scroll through every day. If I were to explain what Xiaohongshu is to a person who hasn’t ever heard of it before, it is essentially a Chinese Instagram, with similar functions, such as an “Explore” page of posts and content tailored according to your data,

a “Follow” page of posts that content creators that you have followed have posted,

and also a little chat box for you to chat or call privately with other accounts.

I love how the app allows a wide range of content to be posted and shared with you and allows you to be easily exposed to the content you like. With a few searches and clicks on the content you like, the “Explore” page will be full of similar content that it thinks will also pique your interest.

People around me have been using this app not only for scrolling for content but also to search for recommendations for restaurants, places to go, and hotels – similar to how they would previously use Dianping. There is also a feature for finding places to go near you called “Nearby,” which is something that I rarely use.

Personally, as for recommendations for places to go, I use Dianping, as I feel that that is a more trustworthy platform with actual vendors’ verified accounts.

So teens use Xiaohongshu as a source of information and entertainment. But what about adults, especially those who aren’t as proficient in Chinese as Margaret? Well, as for myself, an American mom in my mid-30s, Xiaohongshu has become my go-to app in recent months for everything from travel recommendations when visiting a new city, to fitness and healthy recipes, to education.

Restaurant recommendations have never really made it on my top searches on Xiaohongshu for the very specific reason that, well, quality video content of restaurants tends to be made by food bloggers and since their job is literally to promote restaurants, their perfectly edited videos tend to only show what the restaurants want you to see. Travel tips, on the other hand, tend to be more realistic. People love posting photos of their vacations whether they’re bloggers or not. These tend to be more reliable, especially when there’s a large volume of content for every city you can think of on the platform. And to make it even easier, Chinese cities tend to not have translated English names so a quick search with the city’s name in pinyin will give you everything you need.

When it comes to education, Xiaohongshu not only has content from Chinese educators but also plenty of videos from overseas educators sharing their parenting philosophy, tips, and tricks on teaching tools and games, which have come in handy for me countless times.

While most content is posted in Chinese or a combination of Chinese and English, the app’s interface offers a fully English option, which makes online shopping super convenient. Buying clothes and gadgets from influencers you’ve come to know and trust over time tends to have a more comforting feeling than buying from a faceless store on Taobao.

And finally, my recent favorite reason for using Xiaohongshu is fitness. It’s a safe assumption that most of us have our phones with us all day long, and the rise of popular home fitness influencers like Pamela Reif and growingannanas has resulted in a ton of equipment-free routines that vary between 10 and 60 minutes long that are great for those who can’t make it to the gym on a daily basis.

Whether you’re seeking beauty tips, fashion inspiration, travel guides, or simply a vibrant community to engage with, this platform has something for everyone. Download the app and explore its vast array of content. Join the millions who have already discovered the magic of Xiaohongshu, and see how it can add value to your daily life. Happy exploring!

Images: Mina Yan, Margaret Yang, Pexels

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