Open a white noise video of ocean waves, then sit on the sofa browsing X and Xiaohongshu, hoping to find some inspiration for my future life.
Before resigning, I never thought about starting a "one-person company," but I always felt that making a little pocket money through self-media was possible. A year later, I slowly realized that almost all the ways to make money in this society have been blocked.
XHS is Banned#
At first, I wanted to do self-media and update some financial second-hand information on Xiaohongshu. I didn't have many followers, but I already had several pieces of content with over 70,000 views. But the final result was that the platform banned me, without reason or explanation. I actually knew in my heart that several brokerage analysts were also banned by the media at that time. Discussing real data led to being labeled as pessimistic about the economy. I can only say that I may have chosen the wrong direction at the beginning.
It Seems Others Can't Make Money Either#
When I started thinking about switching to the lifestyle section, I found that since 2024, many top self-media bloggers have also started to struggle to get business orders, and even some million-follower teams have disbanded or gone bankrupt. All the once prominent figures are now selling products and courses, even Daniel Wu has started selling English courses. The most viral video this weekend was from the former top food blogger on Bilibili, Daxiang Ge, recounting his story of being scammed out of millions.
The Story is Finished#
In the past, when I had free time, I loved listening to podcasts, and I even accumulated my initial followers on Xiaohongshu by sharing my favorite podcasts. However, after the Spring Festival in 2025, the bloggers who used to update weekly started to reduce their update frequency, or they would just talk vaguely about old topics. It really seems that there are no new topics to discuss anymore.
The Great Leap Forward in AI#
Meanwhile, internet companies are undergoing a "Great Leap Forward in AI," where any business or project must be wrapped in AI. As a result, the overall research and development speed has increased again, to the point where only young adults aged 22 to 28 can hold positions, otherwise, they can't keep up physically. I am curious, after this Great Leap Forward, how much lower can the working age in the internet industry go? 18-22 years old?
The Unspoken Understanding Between Adults#
Since my last resignation, friends occasionally ask about my future plans. However, this time basically no one has asked, as everyone seems to no longer look forward to working, only persisting reluctantly for certain reasons. That question "Why aren't you working?" is no longer asked.