Bhutanese youth plans to switch over to RedNote app amid potential TikTok Ban in US

Bhutanese youth plans to switch over to RedNote app amid potential TikTok Ban in US

The news about the US government discussing the potential ban on the social media app TikTok led to many American Tiktokers taking refuge in a Chinese app known as Xiaohongshu, also referred to as the RedNote app. Following this, many Bhutanese youths are opting to use this new app.

The reason behind Bhutanese, mainly youths, switching to this new app is primarily to follow and watch content from US social media influencers.

The RedNote app is owned by Shanghai-based Xingyin Information technology which is a mandarin dominated app. Unlike other apps the RedNote app does not have any features which allow the users to switch language. So the users who are not familiar with mandarin face challenges while using RedNote.

Despite the language barrier, youths from all over Bhutan seem to show keen interest in the RedNote app whereby they need to use google translator for the navigation.

An ardent Tiktoker, Kinley Chezom from Samtse said that she is already familiar with the app and the purpose behind choosing to download the App is mainly to socialize and make friends from different countries. She says that the app shares several similarities with Tiktok and Instagram. However, she said that language is one of the hindrances of this app as all the notifications are in mandarin.

Jigme Dolma Dorji, another Tiktoker from Thimphu says that she already downloaded the app in December last year. It is mainly because her favorite American influencer, Hailey Bailey, started using RedNote app.

Some of the Bhutanese youth shared that the app is very helpful and interesting. Rash Rehman from Phuentsholing has also downloaded the app for some American influencers. “I don’t want to lose the profiles of my American social media icons. Its better I catch my fans before the Tiktok ban is executed,” he said.

Rash Rehman said that the app is very similar to Instagram reels and YouTube reels. Similar to other youths, he also claims that the language is the only obstacle. Rehman follows Hunter McVey, an American influencer who also switched to the RedNote app.

With the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump nearing, the possibility of banning TikTok is also only a matter a time. BBC reported that TikTok users in the US are migrating to RedNote with the threat of a ban just days away.

Meanwhile, RedNote has welcomed its new users with open arms. There are 63,000 posts on the topic “TikTok refugee”, where new users are taught how to navigate the app and how to use basic Chinese phrases, according to the BBC.

Sonam Wangmo from Thimphu