Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, leads the consumption of short videos in the most populous country, but its content is very different from that proposed by the Chinese app for the rest of the world.
By our correspondent in Beijing, nerea hernandez.
TikTok and Douyin are daughters of the same parent company, ByteDance, the Chinese technology giant. The Chinese version of this famous short video application achieved great success in the Asian country before its Western version was born.
The format of short videos published by the users themselves and by influencers is sweeping and generating addiction, both in China and abroad. However, there are differences between these two social networks that share technology and aesthetics.
In China there are different short video platforms, such as Kuaishou, WeChat Channels and Xigua. But the first in users is Douyin, which reached up to 639 million in 2021.
The Douyin platform has attracted the majority of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) or influencers, which in Chinese has its own term: wanghong. Some of which started to become content providers and grew with the platform to become the largest KOLs in China.
Entertainment and sales leader
TikTok’s target audience is young people, while Douyin has significantly expanded its age range, from the youngest in the house to adults in their 40s.
According to data from Chinese agencies, more than 89% of Douyin users are under the age of 40 and more than 49% are under the age of 30. 68% of all Chinese social media users have a Douyin account and use it regularly Many of them access it several times a day.
The star content in Douyin is entertainment, although we also find a great demand for educational and sales content. In fact, one of the strengths of the Chinese application is its ability to generate sales easily and simply, in just three clicks.
Douyin has become a huge draw for global companies. It is linked to e-commerce platforms, such as Taobao or Jingdong, which monetizes disseminated content incredibly quickly. This is one of the important differences with TikTok, which can advertise brands and products, but without linking to sales platforms.
Douyin to protect Chinese children
The addictive use of these social networks is a real risk. In China, users admit to being hooked on these short videos. “I used to be addicted to TikTok because it’s a good way to kill time,” confesses Tina, a university professor from Xuzhou.
Chinese society is a highly technological society, where the use of smartphones is widespread, not only to communicate, but also to shop, access transportation, work, or access your medical history.
The consumption of fast and attractive content, adapted to the tastes and preferences of each user thanks to algorithms, is the recipe for success of TikTok and Douyin.
In neither of the two there is a time limit, although in the Chinese version official notifications appear to warn the user to rest.
“We like to use it because we learn, but also because other people’s stories give us feelings and comfort. The good thing is that you can experience different pleasures of life without leaving home,” Xijin, a young university student from Guilin, told RFI.
It also details how the little ones use Douyin. “There is a setting for minors on TikTok. If parents set it up, kids can only watch it for 40 minutes every day, and most of the content is related to science experiments, patriotic education, and various disciplines,” she notes.
There is a large production of audiovisual content that reflects the achievements of Chinese society, such as the space race, the protection of pandas and Asian elephants (which have been the subject of much news in recent years) or the Winter Olympic Games.
Chris, a Beijing resident with teenage daughters, acknowledges that everyone in the family is a Douyin user, although he defines himself as a critical user: “Most see Douyin as an important part of their lives and are immersed in the app for longer. 2 hours a day”.
Control of political content
Political content is blocked on Douyin and is frequently removed by the platform. Information such as criticism of the Chinese socialist system, the rights of ethnic minorities, positions in favor of the independence of Taiwan, or the recent demonstrations against the “zero dynamic covid” policy, are removed from the network.
Censorship control as of now can only be strengthened as the platform has China Central Television (CCTV) holdings.
Chris acknowledges: “I have been a great user during the quarantine time this year. During this period, a large amount of content reflected public anger against the zero covid policy, as the platform was unable to detect all these contents in time and remove them.
TikTok and Douyin are addictive applications that attract precisely because of their light content and fast consumption. Although the Chinese version has managed to diversify its content, it also manages to turn its users into compulsive buyers.
