Why has “the most obedient man on the entire internet” become so popular on Xiaohongshu?

@小艾同学 posted her own photos on Xiaohongshu and asked netizens for their transformation opinions. After a year of hard work and persistence, @小艾同学 listened to the opinions of netizens and finally achieved her ideal state. On this basis, she continued to learn and improve herself, becoming an inspirational benchmark on Xiaohongshu.

"I can't find a partner. What do you think is my problem?"

On December 6, 2021, an amateur user named @小艾同学 posted a post on Xiaohongshu asking for help. In the post, he uploaded a clear full-body photo and added a "terrified" request for help.

Image source: @小艾同学. Screenshot of Xiaohongshu homepage

There are countless similar posts on Xiaohongshu. Enthusiastic netizens passing by often express their own suggestions and opinions while watching, and then turn around and immerse themselves in the next wave of information.

As expected, this post by @小艾同学 received an overwhelming amount of "guidance", with netizens from all walks of life offering their own strategies in terms of hairstyle, body shape, dressing, inner self-improvement, etc., and @小艾同学 also responded sincerely and modestly to netizens' questions and suggestions in the comments.

In 2022, @小艾同学 followed the advice of netizens and started a huge transformation project. Losing weight, changing hairstyle, changing clothes... Every time a new change is released, it will attract the attention and discussion of netizens.

As time goes by, @小艾同学's image has changed dramatically. His attitude of humbly accepting advice and working hard to change has won praise from many netizens, many of whom call him "the most obedient man on the Internet." His inspirational story has also been circulated on other platforms.

Image source: @小艾同学. Screenshot of Xiaohongshu homepage

While his personal image has improved, @小艾同学’s number of fans on Xiaohongshu has also increased. So far, his account has 147,000 fans, and business notes have appeared in his posting notes.

From a pure amateur who posted a help post to a Xiaohongshu blogger who received a lot of attention, what does @小艾同学's counterattack and popularity reflect?

1. How to become the “most obedient man on the Internet”

Xiao Ai, who appeared on Xiaohongshu for the first time, was wearing a black suit, white shirt, and blue tie. He was slightly plump, with a casual hairstyle, and his facial expression showed a bit of restraint and lack of confidence.

“What’s my problem?”

Trendsetters active on Xiaohongshu immediately rushed out to offer suggestions. Many people took the lead in making suggestions on his hairstyle, saying that his current hairstyle made him look too old and he needed to change it urgently; others thought that he was a bit fat and encouraged him to exercise to lose weight.

Another group of people asked more detailed questions based on Xiao Ai's needs for making friends, such as " How old are you this year, how tall are you, what job do you do, how much is your salary, do you have a house or a car, how old are your parents?" Faced with these "sharp" questions, Xiao Ai did not avoid them, but answered them one by one in the comment area.

Judging from the answers, Xiao Ai's overall conditions are indeed not excellent. Some users even pointed out bluntly: his conditions are not advantageous at all, and he must learn more and improve his abilities . Of course, a small number of users have more sharp and unfriendly voices.

However, no matter what kind of comments she received, Xiao Ai's attitude in replying was always sincere, humble and modest. This attitude was quickly captured by Xiaohongshu netizens . One user summarized it in a comment: "The only advantage you may have is your personality. You are not arrogant, you are optimistic and open-minded, and you can calmly accept the opinions of others."

Image source: @小艾同学. Screenshot of the comment section of Xiaohongshu

This user's concise evaluation perfectly predicted Xiao Ai's future life path. He not only accepted the advice of others, but also started a transformation project in the following year based on different suggestions :

He first changed his hairstyle to the side-slicked back hair suggested by some netizens, exposing his forehead, and wore framed glasses. Although it looked a little better than before, it still attracted many complaints, such as "from a civil servant to a real estate agent" and "slightly greasy."

Image source: @小艾同学. Screenshot of Xiaohongshu homepage

These complaints did not dampen Xiao Ai's enthusiasm. In order to completely change his hairstyle, he shaved his hair short and put on a hat. At the same time, he also started to lose weight and change his outfit.

Through the reasonable combination of sleep + diet + drinking water + exercise, Xiao Ai's body shape has changed significantly. On February 25, 2022, he posted a note titled "Sharing a Personal Weight Loss Plan", detailing his weight loss method. This note received a total of 11,000 likes, and many Xiaohongshu users were amazed at his execution and perseverance. Some users were also driven by his willpower and decided to start working hard. Later, he shared his weight loss recipes and fitness videos, which received numerous praises.

Image source: @小艾同学. Screenshot of Xiaohongshu homepage

In terms of outfit, Xiao Ai would post her outfit items in her notes, mark the numbers, and then ask netizens to give suggestions and "execute them yourself". After the enthusiastic netizens have finished their work, Xiao Ai would combine everyone's suggestions, select several plans, and then try them on and take photos one by one, so that netizens can check the effect on them, and then continue to optimize.

For example, he listened to the instructions of netizens and changed his tight pants into long loose ones and his hat into a peaked cap. After this optimization, he immediately became more energetic and received more positive comments from netizens, such as "he looks so young", "he is starting to look handsome", "he looks much younger than before" and "he listens to advice so well". In the process of immersing in the live-action version of Miracle Nikki, netizens also fully enjoyed the fun of surfing in the "cultivation system".

Image source: @小艾同学. Screenshot of Xiaohongshu homepage

In one year, with the spirit of actively adopting suggestions, strong self-discipline and perseverance, Xiao Ai has completed a complete transformation. From her hairstyle, figure, and outfit to her overall state and temperament, she has presented a brand new look.

On December 7, 2022, Xiao Ai released a video note titled "Chasing Light", recording the complete process of his transformation. From humbly listening to others' suggestions to implementing them in all aspects, he used a year of persistence to stage an inspirational drama of an ordinary person's counterattack. The sweat he shed, the pain he suffered, and the ridicule he encountered all became medals on his road to transformation, which moved many netizens.

Image source: @小艾同学. Screenshot of Xiaohongshu homepage

After this video note was posted, it received 75,000 likes. Amid the amazement, praise, and emotion of many netizens, Xiao Ai's number of fans has grown as expected, and correspondingly, some brands have also extended olive branches to him. On December 10 last year, Xiao Ai posted a commercial note advertising a skipping rope mat, which received 4,676 likes. Fans are not disgusted by his behavior of eating food, but are genuinely happy for him. After his external image ushered in a counterattack, Xiao Ai's life direction seems to have an additional choice.

2. Why Xiaohongshu?

It’s no surprise that @小艾同学 has become popular.

Counterattack elements have always been the highlight of the content ecosystem. From the beauty track to the plot track, and then to the fashion track, many professional players have achieved an increase in the number of fans through counterattack gameplay.

For example, in 2019, a fashion account named @爆改素人计划 quickly became popular in a short period of time. In about one minute, the video follows the rhythm of "amateur → before transformation → outfit → makeup → after transformation" in an orderly manner.

The ordinary people randomly picked by the reporter from the street corners, whether they were takeaway boys, energetic young men or tired shop ladies, could instantly transform into various types of street fashionistas after being transformed by the dressing and makeup teachers, just like a different person. Such a strong visual impact greatly aroused the interest of users, and the value concept of "there are no ugly people, only lazy people" conveyed in the video also boosted the confidence of users behind the screen, thus stimulating their own strong transformation enthusiasm. According to Kas Data statistics, @爆改素人计划 had accumulated nearly 4 million fans within three months after the release of the first video, and the growth trend was very gratifying.

@Explosive Amateur Plan Douyin video screenshot

If @爆改素人计划 creates a sense of quick counterattack through makeup and dressing, and the whole process has some traces of "deliberateness" and unreality, then Xiao Ai has actually relied on her own efforts and perseverance to step by step embark on a path of transformation that has transformed her completely.

Compared to those creative counterattacks that have been designed or polished, the counterattacks of ordinary people are obviously more real, more convincing, and more inspiring . Xiao Ai's changes over the past year have not only brought amazing visual impact, but also the positive qualities of humility, sincerity, and progress that many users admire and choose to follow.

Image source: @小艾同学. Screenshot of Xiaohongshu homepage

On the other hand, in addition to self-motivation, almost every step of Xiao Ai's change, from changing hairstyle, losing weight to changing dressing style, comes from the suggestions and "supervision" of Xiaohongshu netizens. For this reason, many netizens who witnessed his counterattack process can not only experience the happiness of this "cultivation system", but also gain a subtle sense of accomplishment . This is also an important reason why Xiao Ai became popular.

If we dig deeper into the underlying reasons, we will find that Xiao Ai’s popularity is inseparable from the unique community atmosphere of Xiaohongshu. In fact, to some extent, only Xiaohongshu can “grow” a person like Xiao Ai.

In essence, Xiaohongshu is still a comprehensive content communication community based on UGC, and is more inclined to share users' individual experiences and lifestyles.

From an algorithmic perspective, decentralized algorithm recommendations allow everyone's posted content to have the opportunity to be recommended to the homepage and to people with the same interests; from the perspective of platform characteristics, the content format of pictures, texts + short videos greatly lowers the threshold for creation, thereby encouraging ordinary users to express themselves authentically; from the perspective of the creative atmosphere, compared to other social platforms, Xiaohongshu users are more tolerant and have a stronger willingness to interact.

Under this premise, more exclusive and unique content models began to "spread" on Xiaohongshu.

Previously, in the article "Little Red Book, the 'Circle of Friends'", Kas pointed out that based on the logic of non-acquaintance social interaction, Little Red Book has gradually become a platform for young people to express themselves and vent their emotions. More and more young people choose to record their lives on Little Red Book, tell various types of emotional stories, and provide a secret outlet for some secret thoughts or anxiety and panic that are difficult to tell in real life.

At the same time, Xiaohongshu's "tool" attribute also allows a large number of users to use it as a consulting platform for providing advice in addition to expressing their emotions. A series of notes that are different from "seeking advice" and have obvious interactive, sharing, and help-seeking nature can often expand their voices through interactive behaviors such as likes and comments, thus gaining good traffic after gathering people with the same interest circles.

The help post sent by Xiao Ai belongs to one of them. In addition, his request for help focused on the areas of fashion and dressing that female users of Xiaohongshu are particularly good at, so he was able to attract users' attention more quickly.

The high proportion of female users is still one of the characteristics of Xiaohongshu users. According to third-party data, among Xiaoai's fans, female fans account for as high as 87.1%. Compared with men, female users of Xiaohongshu have a higher enthusiasm for beauty and all extensions of beauty. Correspondingly, their willingness to share and interact is also significantly stronger, which is also the core reason why Xiaoai is willing to ask for help on Xiaohongshu and receive reliable advice.

According to Kass, since becoming popular, Xiao Ai has continued to share his life changes on Xiaohongshu, and the number of his fans has also increased accordingly. In addition to the significant changes in appearance and clothing, many users have also witnessed his significant improvement in education, income, and even Mandarin. In the unique community atmosphere of Xiaohongshu, Xiao Ai's popularity has undoubtedly opened up more possibilities for its content ecology.

Author: Yue Yao

Source: WeChat public account "CaasData" (ID: caasdata6)