ALGORITHMIC NOSTALGIA: COMMODIFYING COLONIAL MEMORY AS YOUTH LIFESTYLE ON XIAOHONGSHU IN SHANGHAI’S WUTONG DISTRICT

Abstract

Focusing on Shanghai’s Wutong District, a historic area within the former French Concession, this study examines the recomposition and commodification of colonial urban heritage on Xiaohongshu, a leading Chinese lifestyle‑sharing platform. We advance “algorithmic nostalgia” as a platform-mediated process through which recommendation algorithms filter, amplify, and circulate decontextualized colonial memory, reframing it as a consumable youth lifestyle. Guided by three questions—what multimodal features produce an aestheticized, dehistoricized ambiance; how the zhongcao mechanism (recommendation‑based marketing strategy) transforms colonial memory into lifestyle commodities; and what historical consciousness and cultural imaginaries emerge from this depoliticized aestheticization—we employ a critical qualitative approach that integrates decolonial theory, mediascape theory, and algorithmic culture studies. Using critical discourse analysis and multimodal analysis, we examine a purposive sample of 20 highly engaged posts from the past year, selected for engagement and typicality (e.g., landmarks, aesthetic style, lifestyle tags); visual (filters, composition, postures) and textual elements (titles, tags, affective language) are analyzed in relation to platform recommendation logic. Preliminary findings identify three dynamics: curated authenticity constructing a hyperreal consumption space; algorithmically reinforced, homogenized nostalgia commodifying memory; and performative digital identities expressing selective cosmopolitanism that perpetuates postcolonial cultural power asymmetries. By conceptualizing “algorithmic nostalgia,” the study bridges memory studies, platform studies, and decolonial critique, offering insights for heritage education, media literacy, and urban cultural policy.