The techno-utopian dream of the 1990s lives on at RedNote (For Now)

Unless the US Supreme Court decides something to stop TikTok, the US government will officially ban TikTok on Sunday, January 19. last minute judgment. The impending ban has caused many TikTokers to migrate to a new Chinese video sharing app called Xiaohongshu—Red Note or The Red Book, in English—as a general screw-up to America’s ruling class. With RedNote retaining the number one spot on the US Apple App Store for the second day running, it’s fascinating to watch.

It’s unclear if Americans will really stick with RedNote for long, especially if TikTok is saved through a successful sale to the American company or if President-elect Donald Trump somehow intervenes. A Bloomberg report that Elon Musk may be trying to buy TikTok was quickly shot down by TikTok on Monday night. But it’s really interesting that both American and Chinese users discuss the migration to RedNote in very techno-utopian terms.

Internet users in the U.S. and China have been separated by a giant digital divide for so long that both old and new RedNote users say it finally feels like an opportunity for real cultural exchange between average citizens of the two countries. Because back in the 1990s, the idea of ​​a “global village” where everyone could freely and peacefully communicate around the world was a big part of humanity’s future technological dream. But things like China’s Great Firewall and the US surveillance apparatus have hindered that vision.

“It’s so nostalgic for me to see TikTok refugees pouring into red notes,” said one RedNote user, Zoey. said in a video. “It reminds me of the early 2000s, when the Internet first made a global village possible.”

Zoey compared it to how people of the 20th century often did pen palsa common way to communicate with random people you don’t know on the other side of the world. Physical letters were exchanged through the postal service, often coordinated through schools so that children could practice language and writing skills while learning about different cultures. Zoey said that her practice at school was just pretending she and her fellow students were writing to a pen pal, but the idea was the same.

“I remember those times. In China, when I was little, when I first started learning English, we would practice writing by pretending to have a pen pal from the US or UK,” Zoey said. “And we write them in English. It’s very similar to what’s happening at Red Note right now.”

Zoey admits that it’s “a bit chaotic,” but says that overall, people really care about each other.

“It’s almost magical that the desire to connect and collect can still transcend so many boundaries, especially in an age where the internet is so fragmented and algorithms are building really powerful echo chambers that prevent people from understanding each other,” says Zoey. it can be called very magical.

Zoey no longer has to pretend she’s writing to her pen pal. At least not for now. But Zoey knows it might just be an illusion, and that brief moment could pass too quickly.

“I may be over-romanticizing it, but I’ve felt this way for a long time. Like people can really connect and people really care and care about each other,” Zoey said. “I don’t know how long this moment will last. I’m not an optimistic person, but I really hope it can last a little bit longer.” .

Other English-speaking users living in China spoke of their conflicted feelings when they saw the American stream on the app. One of the creators said he was a TikTok Live host and would come to RedNote (or Red Book) to complain about Americans he encountered on TikTok.

“The Red Book is also a place where I can talk about my American clients behind their backs. That’s why I was thinking about where to put those things now,” the user jokes.

The user also encouraged Americans to learn Mandarin, a common sentiment that often came up for US-based users who tried the site.

But this is certainly not a serious discussion. RedNote has countless jokes about America’s growing interest. Many users joked to be a spy On TikTok and more US users want to continue their spying as they switch to Red Note. This kind of banter has also become common among Americans on TikTok in recent days and weeks.

Other RedNote users who spoke to Americans welcomed the new users, but offered advice on everything from ignoring trolls to practicing Mandarin.

“At the end of the day, we’re not that different,” one RedNote user said he said in english About the cultural gap between American and Chinese users. However, the same user also talked about RedNote’s “rules” in coded language.

“Yes, here are the rules,” says the user. “The place is quite cool, but not disorderly. I honestly don’t know much about it because I really don’t need it, if you know what I mean.”

The user says “things you should say” in the US, “you probably shouldn’t say here.” The user continues: “See what I mean here?” While encouraging Americans to “just use common sense.”

Red Note is not a utopia from the perspective of any American who cares about the ideals of liberal democracy and free speech. The app operates under Chinese government regulations, meaning you won’t find any criticism of the Communist Party. China is not a utopia for LGBT people. One in recent years pressure On LGBT advocacy groups by Beijing.

The only area where Americans may find more freedom is on subjects like Luigi Mangione, 26, who was charged with killing the United Healthcare CEO in December. Social media sites like TikTok play a mole to suppress content mentions Mangione however, Red Note appears to have no such limitations.

One of the funnier realities for Americans on TikTok in recent days is that other English-language creators they can enjoy around the world aren’t being downloaded from the platform. A US user named Mystery of Kyle joked about UK users staying on the platform, saying“We will not be able to make fun of each other anymore. What will you do without us?”

“Now it will literally be a British programme. And you are not many,” he continued. “They’re all in a confined space with a terrible kitchen. What will you do? Are you talking about canned fish? There is a man called Canned Fish Reviews. He will probably be the number one creator of this program when we are gone.”

Online utopian ideals of a global village were always romantic. The US intelligence community literally helped create the Internet from its early days 1960s and 70sthe NSA and CIA have been spying ever since. The Internet was a creation of the Cold War, and the borders of the Internet were drawn along the same Cold Warrior battle lines. Finally, the first internet hub outside the US was set up in Norway to monitor Soviet nuclear tests.

China, though late to the internet party, has a government that spies on the internet almost as much as Americans, oppressing and censoring its population by blocking access to American websites for decades. And now, with the TikTok ban, it’s Americans’ turn to learn the forms of serious censorship.

If there is a critical mass of Americans on RedNote next week, the US government may very well move to ban the program under the guise of “national security” concerns. But with Trump taking office on Monday, a new ban on the Chinese-owned app is unlikely to make front-page news. With everything Trump has promised to do on day one — from mass deportations to a serious crackdown on political opponents — another banned app will be another Monday in America.