How Did the Viral Xiaolatiao Vaping Device Become So Popular on Douyin?

The viral vaping device on Douyin, Xiaolatiao, has become incredibly popular. Do you know why? E-cigarettes have now become the preferred alternative for many smokers in China, and the tobacco market here has attracted a lot of businesses. How to bring e-cigarettes to users? The hottest platform, Douyin, is a choice for many e-cigarette businesses, and as a leader in the industry, Xiaolatiao certainly won't miss this opportunity. However, the short video landscape is never calm; there are many sellers on Douyin. Last year, the popular platform Kuaishou was leading the dance craze, but after the Spring Festival, it transformed into Douyin's seaweed dance, a change that is astonishingly rapid!

As a rising star, Douyin's charm is undeniable. Many people are addicted and can't extricate themselves, with hardcore fans even binge-watching all night and still feeling unsatisfied.

Some people, in order to resist Douyin's temptation, have taken the drastic step of deleting the app immediately, thus breaking away from the Douyin army and returning to themselves.

The unusual behavior of these users makes one ponder: how did this short video platform achieve such a level of influence?
After some reflection, it becomes clear that aside from Douyin, other frequently used platforms like Moments, Weibo, Zhihu, and games like Honor of Kings share similar addictive characteristics. The underlying mechanisms are the same, leveraging people's emotional responses to achieve control.

Today's article will delve into how Xiaolatiao e-cigarettes have leveraged Douyin to become a viral sensation!

1. How do they make you addicted?

In essence, any addictive product needs to have three key elements to keep people hooked. So, what are these three elements?

1) Action: The initial trigger for people's actions is usually driven by the need for positive experiences. For example, on Douyin, someone might be walking down the street and see an advertisement featuring their favorite celebrity, or they might come across a cool Douyin video on Moments or Weibo, or they could be strongly recommended by friends. The motivation behind these actions stems from an inner pursuit of happiness and a sense of belonging.

2) Variable rewards: When you download Douyin with anticipation, you land directly on the recommended video page, where the curated popular videos are fun, flashy, and cool, instantly capturing your attention and fulfilling your expectations. At this point, you've succeeded halfway; after receiving your initial reward, you feel great and continue scrolling.

Note: This is crucial! The rewards at this stage are variable and unpredictable. You don't know if the next video will be even more interesting, which keeps you in a constant state of anticipation. This is what draws you in, like chasing prey to discover more fun, visually appealing, and cool videos, making it impossible to stop.

If the rewards were predictable, the enthusiasm wouldn't last. It's like knowing what a magic trick will reveal each time; after a few views, it loses its charm, right?

Variable rewards are like treasures, enticing you to keep digging. You don't know if there's something good inside until you open it.

Sometimes you find something good, sometimes something bad. When you discover something bad, you anticipate that the next treasure will be good, and when you find something good, you look forward to the next one being good too. This cycle encourages you to continue acting, ultimately leading to a deep and enjoyable addiction.

3) Investment: Having action and rewards isn't enough to make you addicted; this final step is crucial. Some people never reach this step and fall off. However, users who complete this step are usually hard to lose. This step is investment.

After enjoying the rewards, the platform will entice you to invest something, whether it's sharing videos, commenting, creating videos, adding friends, or filling out personal information. To ensure your actions aren't hindered, these buttons and processes are designed to be extremely simple and prominent, thus improving action efficiency.

The principle of reciprocity kicks in here. As a survival skill developed throughout human evolution, you will be very willing to invest something as a return to the platform. A deeper reason is the desire to mimic others' behaviors to gain social rewards (likes, comments, follows).

As you gradually invest more, your attitude will change. After spending so much time and energy, you can no longer view the platform as low-quality or boring; otherwise, it would conflict with your actions. To avoid cognitive dissonance, you will continue to maintain the same behavioral attitude as before.

After completing the entire cycle, the variable rewards will pull you back in. You look forward to receiving likes, comments, or follows (social rewards). You can't resist checking, and if you find that many people have liked, commented, or followed you, you'll feel a sense of achievement (self-reward), giving you even more reasons to stay on the platform.

If there are no immediate rewards, you will search for social rewards among the recommended videos on the homepage, scrolling endlessly. To better pull you back in, the platform initially allows notifications, so you receive constant alerts about who has posted new videos, and out of curiosity, you continue to open the app, leading to endless scrolling.
After this cycle repeats many times, the trigger for your actions shifts from positive psychology to negative emotions. When you feel bored or troubled, to escape these negative experiences, you unconsciously open Douyin again in search of rewards. These negative emotions are ubiquitous, and at this point, congratulations, you have successfully become addicted.

2. Why can't you control yourself?

Many people struggle internally after becoming addicted to certain products, promising themselves they won't play anymore, yet ultimately can't resist. Why is it so hard to control? What governs the willpower of the brain, leading to such contradictory behaviors and causing inner turmoil?

In fact, the brain is controlled by two systems: System 1 (the planner) and System 2 (the doer).

System 1: The planner, which is forward-looking, primarily concerned with the future and has good plans; it is the rational part of the brain.

For example, you decide to wake up early tomorrow, read a book a month, or achieve a weight loss goal this year, all of which are long-term plans dominated by System 1.
System 2: The doer, who lives in the moment, driven by desires and emotions.

For instance, the plan to wake up early fails because you can't resist the warmth of your bed, reading a book seems too mentally taxing, and you prefer to binge-watch popular dramas and scroll through Douyin instead. Your weight loss plan has long been derailed by delicious food, and the idea of a good university? Forget it.

This is similar to the relationship between some company bosses and their employees; bosses talk about goals and plans every day, while employees just hope not to work overtime tonight and wonder if they can get a raise this month, leading to an eternal conflict between some bosses and employees.

Addictive products manipulate System 2, the doer. When feelings of emptiness, boredom, or annoyance arise, the doer will recklessly seek to eliminate negative experiences to achieve inner pleasure. This explains why, when bored, people often feel the urge to smoke or pull out their phones to scroll through Moments, Douyin, Zhihu, etc. Many times, these actions occur unconsciously, and only when you realize it do you find yourself playing again.

In summary,

Using Douyin to promote e-cigarettes capitalizes on users' addiction to the platform. Of course, this poses no harm to the users themselves, as people generally seek pleasure within Douyin. Xiaolatiao e-cigarettes have become a viral sensation on Douyin not only because they chose the right platform but also due to their high-quality products. In the internet age, reputation is the foundation and lifeblood of a brand.