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 Banned#
At first, I wanted to do self-media, updating some financial second-hand information on Xiaohongshu. I didn't have many followers, but I 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 might 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 receive fewer business orders, and even some million-up teams have disbanded and closed down. 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 Has Been Told#
In the past, when I had nothing to do, I loved listening to podcasts, and I even accumulated my initial followers on Xiaohongshu by sharing my favorite podcasts. However, after the Spring Festival of 2025, the bloggers who used to update every Monday started to reduce their update frequency, or they would just talk vaguely about old topics. It really seems like there are no new topics to discuss.
AI Leap Forward#
Meanwhile, internet companies are experiencing an "AI leap forward." Regardless of the business or project, everything must be wrapped in an AI facade. 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'm curious, after this 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 expect to go to work, only persisting reluctantly for certain reasons. That question "Why aren't you working?" is no longer asked.