A Study on Cross-Cultural Communication in Chinese Influencers’ India-Themed Short Video Accounts—A Case Study of the Top 10 Accounts on Douyin and Kuaishou

Abstract

With the increasing maturity of internet and information technologies, new media platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou have risen to prominence, becoming the most promising influencer platforms of the new era and serving as vital channels for cultural dissemination.Against this backdrop, many Chinese residents in India have opened and operated accounts on Douyin and Kuaishou to share their experiences and observations in India. The emergence of short videos has provided an effective and efficient avenue for deepening China’s understanding of local Indian culture and for disseminating Indian culture, while also fostering social interaction, stimulating cross-cultural consumption, and driving the development of the tourism industry.However, the development of these platforms has also exposed certain issues, such as a tendency to prioritize click-through rates at the expense of cultural substance, content homogenization, a lack of professional management, and suboptimal dissemination outcomes. This study employs research methods including observation, literature review, and case analysis. By selecting the top ten Kuaishou short video accounts dedicated to the dissemination of Indian culture as case study subjects, it proposes that creators should specialize in niche fields, innovate video content, and adopt a responsible approach to dissemination in order to better support the development of Douyin and Kuaishou short video accounts in the context of Indian cultural dissemination.Kuaishou as case study subjects. It offers recommendations on how to better support the development of Douyin and Kuaishou short video accounts in the dissemination of Indian culture, suggesting that creators should: delve deeply into niche fields; innovate video content; adopt a responsible attitude toward dissemination; emphasize cultural substance; collaborate with institutional operations to build bridge-type accounts; and leverage platform characteristics to utilize diverse forms of dissemination.