With the U.S. drawing closer to a TikTok ban, the ripple effects are taking an unexpected turn. Unexpectedly, the number of people enrolling in Mandarin classes on Duolingo has skyrocketed by 216%. What is behind this sudden interest in Chinese language study?
The movement of TikTok users to the Chinese social media site RedNote (also called Xiaohongshu) is the source of the buzz. With more than 700 million TikTokers looking for a new place to call home online, RedNote has swiftly emerged as the preferred app for many. But because RedNote is mainly in Mandarin, it can be difficult for non-Chinese speakers to connect and explore.
People are using language-learning applications like Duolingo to study the fundamentals of Mandarin in order to close the gap. Users want to interact with information, learn more about the platform, and join new communities. The pattern demonstrates the speed at which the digital environment can encourage people to adopt new abilities, particularly in the area of communication.
It’s interesting to note that this spike demonstrates the strength of international ties. TikTok has united people from all over the world with its varied content and viral trends. RedNote now appears to be taking over that function, but with a linguistic barrier that many people are resolved to go past.
