Research on Functional Alienation of Bookmarking Behavior among Xiaohongshu Users in the Context of Digital Hoarding

Abstract

This study focuses on the "bookmarking as action" behavioral paradox on the Xiaohongshu platform, a phenomenon exhibiting characteristics of mild digital hoarding. Addressing limitations in existing research—such as the pathologizing bias towards digital hoarding, insufficient attention to emotional mechanisms, and the neglect of platform design roles—this research introduces the theoretical framework of "functional alienation" to explore how user bookmarking behavior shifts from a functional practice of "enabling future action" to an emotional practice of "alleviating immediate anxiety." By integrating theories of digital hoarding, emotion, and meaning-making, a "meaning-emotion-behavior-alienation" cyclical model is constructed. A mixed-method approach combining questionnaire screening and in-depth interviews is employed to analyze user motivations and contradictions. Findings reveal that users rationalize bookmarking through meaning narratives such as "knowledge management" and "identity marking"; platform designs like "one-click bookmarking + algorithmic recommendation + digital feedback" collude with emotional logic to foster continuous hoarding; behavioral alienation leads to functional failure and emotional burden, forming a paradox of substitutive satisfaction where "bookmarking equates to possession." The conclusion unveils the mechanism of behavioral alienation driven by the mutual construction of platform capital logic and user emotion, providing theoretical expansion for research on digital hoarding in social media.