Written by Lydia
(Images sourced from Canva are used under Canva’s applicable content licences)
When I first came to Vancouver as an international student, I didn’t really know anyone here. Everything was new to me, and I wasn’t familiar with the city at all. I didn’t have many friends to hang out with, so most of the time, my life was pretty much just going to school and coming home. I wanted to explore Vancouver, but I honestly didn’t know where to start. That’s when I started using social media more often to fi nd things to do around the city.
One app that I found really helpful was Xiaohongshu, also known as RED. It’s a Chinese social media platform where people share their daily lives, recommendations, and personal experiences. I started using it to search for restaurants, cafés, and upcoming events in Vancouver. Sometimes I would just scroll through posts and suddenly find a weekend market or a local festival that looked interesting. Without these posts, I probably wouldn’t have even known those events were happening.
What I also like about Xiaohongshu is that people share a lot of useful tips about living in Vancouver. For example, some people talk about renting apartments, taking public transportation, studying, or dealing with everyday problems. As someone who was new to the city, I found these posts really helpful. It was nice to learn from people who had already gone through similar experiences.
I personally love trying new restaurants and finding good food, so food recommendations are probably what I search for the most. Whenever I have free time, I like looking for new places to try. Sometimes I’ll see a restaurant on Xiaohongshu and decide to visit it with my friends. It’s actually helped me explore different neighbourhoods in Vancouver that I might not have visited otherwise.
After a while, I also started posting my own restaurant reviews. I enjoy taking photos of food and sharing my experiences, especially when I fi nd a place I really like. It’s fun to think that someone might discover a new restaurant because of something I posted, just like how I discovered so many places through other people’s recommendations.
Of course, I don’t think everything on social media should be trusted. Sometimes restaurants look amazing in photos but turn out to be disappointing in real life. Some posts are also advertisements, and the information people share isn’t always accurate or up to date. I’ve learned that it’s important to check different sources, especially when it comes to important information.
Looking back, I think digital media has made a big difference in my life in Vancouver. It didn’t suddenly give me a whole new group of friends, but it gave me more reasons to go out, try new things, and become familiar with the city. I went from not knowing what to do on weekends to having a long list of places I wanted to visit. For me, digital media isn’t just something I use when I’m bored. It’s become part of how I experience and enjoy living in a city that once felt completely unfamiliar.