Saying Goodbye to Screen Addiction, Xiaohongshu "Drives" Young People Outdoors

Written by | Guobaoyou

Cover source | Unsplash

Young people are starting to "find colors" on Xiaohongshu

Some days ago, I came across what might be the most vibrant set of photos this spring.

Xiaohongshu blogger @Lewis did a wonderful experiment. He gave the camera to a pair of street cleaners who were working in the early morning and invited them to embark on their own colorwalk.

Although they didn't understand composition, their lenses captured the most easily overlooked corners of spring - the pink petals shaken off by the wind were carefully arranged into a heart shape. The aunt pulled the uncle to take a photo with the newly blooming flowers on the tree, and the uncle also captured the aunt's smiling face when she tossed the petals.

Photo source: Xiaohongshu @Lewis

In the hearts of the uncle and aunt, "spring is the pink that falls from the treetops." @Lewis, who witnessed their experience, couldn't help but sigh, "They are not just passers - by of spring; they are the ones first recognized by spring."

After fermenting throughout the spring, colorwalk is no longer just a simple trend - following check - in activity. It has become a "treasure - hunting game" that everyone participates in, and more diverse and innovative ways of playing have emerged on Xiaohongshu.

No longer just focusing on the present, "finding colors" here is no longer restricted by time and space.

@Xiaodizai conducted an "archaeological" search with a color - finding task. He found a photo of Sayram Lake in Xinjiang taken a year ago in his photo album. The camera captured the unique blend of the blue sky and green grass in Xinjiang. Those forgotten spring details were magnified again. He said, "The spring of Sayram Lake is calling you." @Xiaoyuan lets go simply turned colorwalk into a new way to relive the happiness of traveling. The blue Bondi Beach, the grey - green Collins Street, the city hall with purple flowers... Those Australian local landscapes that were gathering dust in the photo album have become vivid and specific again because of the connection of various colors.

Photo source: Xiaohongshu @Xiaoyuan lets go

Colorwalk has also become a unique language of expression on Xiaohongshu, giving rise to wonderful chemical reactions among people in the community.

The actor Yuan Hong (@Atenaoke) also played colorwalk while visiting the Art Basel in Hong Kong. He captured orange elements among a variety of artworks and called on his fans in the comment section to share their orange photos. @Caomiyuhangyuan and his wife @Keni Jiang had a one - day date in the way of colorwalk, turning it into an interesting aesthetic challenge between a couple. They had a photo competition of black and green, and even asked netizens to be the judges to decide the winner. @ItsDani had a colorwalk PK with her traveling friends on the streets of Suzhou. She said, "Exploring the city with the people you like with your eyes is probably the most romantic thing in spring!"

Photo source: Yuan Hong's Xiaohongshu @Atenaoke

Colorwalk seems to have sparked an online carnival on Xiaohongshu and has become a new form of social currency here. The data also proves the popularity of colorwalk. Since March, there have been 270,000 new colorwalk - related posts on Xiaohongshu, with an exposure of 3.9 billion times.

Young people always have a variety of ways to play, but we can't help but wonder why this seemingly ordinary "date with colors" has caused such a stir on Xiaohongshu this spring?

Perception revives with spring

In an era where filters and travel guides come first, and the cycle of "planting grass" (recommending products) and "pulling grass" (purchasing recommended products) alternates, people are getting more and more used to presetting their feelings. As Eileen Chang said, "We always see pictures of the sea before we see the sea." Life has become routine, and the unexpected surprises are gradually disappearing.

So, more and more young people are waking up and trying to regain their perception of the nearby environment.

A revival of the senses is gradually beginning.

From exploring the street corners in citywalk, to the popular "20 minutes in the park", and then to hugging trees to absorb the energy of nature and having a wild picnic on the ground, the ways for young people to explore the outside world are constantly being updated. This year, this impulse to touch the world again has evolved into "owning spring first" through colorwalk.

Colorwalk is like a very cost - effective "rehabilitation of perception". You don't need to study complex itineraries or buy professional outdoor equipment. You just need to bring a pair of eyes to look for colors, step out of your home, and you can reopen your perception channels in a very light - hearted way.

And the unique community atmosphere on Xiaohongshu has turned this individual revival into a group resonance.

Here, every moment captured by young people in their lives is not ignored. Instead, it can always quickly arouse echoes. In the colorwalk notes, the most common comments in the comment section are "I'll post one too" and "I've been there too". It's like a relay of regaining perception. Some people post check - in photos taken on the same day and at the same place, some capture the same colors, and even the angles of framing and composition may be exactly the same.

People are not only exchanging the colors of spring but also the ability to rediscover life. Blogger @Fenbuqingdaxiaowang also tried colorwalk during a date. The two of them challenged to take photos of blue and yellow respectively. As a result, there were many co - creations from netizens in the comment section of this note. Some people shared the photos they took during their colorwalk, some suggested they "come and take a photo of my yellow - and - blue quilt", and some netizens even invented a high - level way of playing on the spot: "Challenge to take a photo of the color the other person is wearing", so that they can say in their WeChat Moments, "You are the only color in my eyes."

Recommendations from netizens in the comment section of @Fenbuqingdaxiaowang

Colorwalk is no longer just a hot topic on the Internet. It has taken root in real life, giving young people a concrete expression of the revival of perception.

In the colorwalk photos, young people are showing a more vivid and interesting side, and they are regaining their keen ability to capture the details of daily life. And in the process of exchanging photos, young people have broken through the social barriers and achieved a transformation from "seeing the nearby" to "seeing each other", truly welcoming a grand revival with spring.

Starting from colors, enriching life

When colorwalk is integrated into the daily lives of young people, it also spreads deeper into their hearts.

Now, colorwalk is no longer just a simple "display of spring street colors". It is more like a key that helps young people regain their increasingly scarce interest in life and start to carefully examine their daily lives again. And young people have turned colorwalk into a new perspective on life during the process -

Some people have brought colorwalk into their homes, turning it into a colorhome without leaving home. @Mangguohuhu shared the scenes at home at different times in the way of posting colorwalk photos. "No need to buy tickets, no need to squeeze in the crowd, no need to go out", "Achieve zero steps, zero mistakes, and zero consumption". Isn't staying at home and traveling also a kind of travel? With a pair of eyes to look for colors, the seemingly unchanging home - staying life also has a sense of freshness.

Some people use colorwalk as an addition to their hobbies. @Guoniaonvzhubo Huyibai combined colorwalk with bird - watching. Like collecting limited - edition blind boxes in nature, she dug out the hard - drive and collected a total of 9 yellow birds: siskins, yellow - bellied tits, black - naped orioles... It adds a new sense of achievement to the already fun bird - watching activity.

Photo source: Xiaohongshu @Guoniaonvzhubo Huyibai

Some people use colorwalk to unlock food exploration. "It's really an effective way to enrich the lives of bored people and can significantly enhance the fun of eating." Food blogger @Tuanzichiyidian said that it's not about filling the stomach or taking the same old internet - famous check - in photos, but adding a new dimension to the meal. "It feels even happier to change the perspective of observing the world to food!!!"

Colorwalk may seem like a purposeless stroll, but in essence, it is a rehabilitation of perception to rediscover the beauty of life. Even if you are walking on the same boring old road to and from work every day, or eating at the same food restaurant you've checked in several times, you will feel it's completely different. It puts a new pair of eyes on the originally numb daily life. Those previously ignored corners, or the tiny decorations on desserts, have become little Easter eggs to break the boring daily routine.

It emerged in spring, but is not limited to spring. It starts when you go out, but doesn't stop at going out. As a netizen said, after colorwalk, "I found that my perception ability, which was lost due to study and work, is slowly recovering. I found that the world is actually very beautiful and eye - catching."

In today's world where the concept of "nearby" is gradually disappearing and life is becoming more and more homogenized due to algorithms, Xiaohongshu, with its free and friendly community ecosystem, encourages young people to engage in color roaming and the revival of perception and make personalized displays. There is no absolute standard answer here. The same color can reflect completely different beauty in the eyes of young people; the same product can be photographed from unexpected angles by young people; even the concept of colorwalk can give rise to all kinds of strange ways of playing.

No matter how imaginative the perspective or how simple and ordinary the daily life presented, it can always find an exact resonance with netizens on Xiaohongshu. This community atmosphere attracts more people to go out, to see and experience, and then leads them to share and interact.

When photos are exchanged in the comment section, young people are not only sharing the colors of spring but also confirming in each other's lenses that in the ordinary daily life, there are also people like themselves who are loving life so sincerely and passionately.

Have you tried colorwalk this spring?

What new discoveries have you made during the colorwalk?