Mountain Academy
I did not choose digital culture from the outside.I grew up inside it.
I belong to a generation that grew up as the internet changed from a tool into an environment — smartphones, online video and social platforms all became part of how I understood the world. I was not only learning how to use technology. I was learning how technology changes people.
Beginning
Growing Up Connected
When I was in secondary school, vlogging and short-form video were emerging as new forms of expression in China, and I was immediately drawn to them. I spent time filming, editing and studying videos, fascinated by how images, words and music could turn everyday experience into something that travelled beyond its original place. For my generation, these platforms became more than entertainment — they were windows into different cultures, communities and ways of living, and they made me believe another path was possible.
Without the internet, short-form video and social media, I would not have become the same person. They shaped what I could see, what I could imagine, and eventually what I chose to study.
Turning Points
A few moments changed direction.
Curiosity Became Creation
In 2018, I started using images, video and writing to document my life and share ideas online. What began as curiosity became a long-term creative practice — and taught me that people use media not just to consume, but to understand themselves and imagine different futures.
Creation Became a Question, Questions Became Research
The more I created, the more I questioned what I was seeing — how recommendation systems could reward attention and repetition as much as genuine connection. That tension led me to study Internet and New Media, where research into mainstream-media vlogs showed me how online video was reshaping who gets to publish, and what happens when everyone can.
Research Became Data, Data Became Context
As a research assistant studying mobile communication in the 5G era, I learned that technology can't be understood apart from the context people use it in. Later, working with public-opinion data at GSDATA for clients including CCTV, I learned that numbers alone can't explain public opinion — data only becomes meaningful in context, and emotion often travels faster than facts.
Research Became Practice
My later work in marketing, business development and user operations — at Southern Land and Ripple MIC — brought these questions into professional practice. Growth, I learned, was never one viral moment. It was a continuous process of observing, testing and improving.
Using Became Building
AI-assisted tools changed my relationship with technology again — from using digital platforms to building systems of my own. Yaya Digital emerged from this shift: not just a website, but a space where research, creativity and technology continue developing together.
Philosophy
Curious, but Never Uncritical
I remain deeply optimistic about technology, but aware that every technology carries assumptions, incentives and consequences. My relationship with digital culture has always held two things at once — participation and observation, enthusiasm and caution, creation and reflection.
Technology Expands Possibility
It let me see cultures and ways of living beyond my surroundings, and gave ordinary people new ways to learn, create and participate.
Attention Is Never Neutral
Algorithms help people discover what's relevant, but they also decide what stays visible and which emotions get rewarded.
Expression Requires Responsibility
More people can now speak — which means creators, platforms and audiences all share responsibility for accuracy, motivation and impact.
Data Needs Human Context
Metrics show what happened, not why it mattered. Good analysis keeps human experience in view, not hidden behind a dashboard.
Growth Is Continuous
Sustainable growth rarely comes from one perfect idea — it comes from repeated cycles of research, experimentation and improvement.
Technology Should Remain a Medium
Not the destination. It should expand what people are able to imagine and create, not remove humanity from the process.
Looking Forward
From Understanding Systems to Building Better Ones
My journey began with creating videos. It led me to study platforms, algorithms, data and digital culture, then showed me — through professional practice — how these systems affect real audiences, businesses and communities. The next stage is building: I want to continue working at the intersection of marketing, digital culture, user understanding, AI-assisted workflows, human-centred technology and creative digital experiences.
Future projects may change in form, industry or technology, but one question will remain: how can technology create greater possibility without losing sight of the people using it?
I grew up learning how digital systems shape the world around me. Now I want to help shape the systems that come next.
“Stay curious about what technology makes possible. Stay thoughtful about what it changes.”Back to Home