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Summary of article:
Hongguo mini drama launched a reminder of rest and sleep due to the drug addiction controversy, and plans to phase out the “earn gold coins by watching drama” mechanism to reduce workload and return to content while promoting the audience and the creative side to move towards quality.
The addiction problem of China’s largest short drama platform “Hongguo Short Drama” has recently come to light. Many netizens also mocked themselves by calling themselves “electronic opium”, which caused controversy. After the end of the “earn gold coins by watching dramas” model that has been running for nearly three years at the end of this year, Hongguo short dramas recently launched a new system, including two new mechanisms, “rest reminder” and “sleep reminder”. Users who watch dramas for more than a certain period of time, or open Hongguo mini dramas late at night, will see videos of familiar mini drama characters facing the camera, reminding users to put down their phones and relax.
According to the cover news report, Hongguo short drama has launched two mechanisms: “rest reminder” and “sleep reminder”. A “break reminder” is triggered after the user has watched a drama for a certain period of time. On the drama playback page, a reminder “It’s time to take a break” will appear at the top of the screen; On the recommendation page, the user will see a reminder video. “Sleep Reminder” is for users who are still watching dramas late at night.
It is worth mentioning that on October 21, the official account of Hongguo Short Drama announced that it planned to take the gold coin function offline in stages: It is expected that the gold coin function will no longer be provided to new users from November 1, 2026, and will be completely offline before the end of December 2026. The gold coins and cash balance rights and interests received by users will not be affected, and the platform will set aside a window for exchange and withdrawal. Gold coins are rewards for users after completing check-in, browsing skits, opening treasure boxes, and participating in subsidy tasks.
An insider revealed that the main idea of the offline gold coin function of Hongguo short drama is “anti-addiction”. “Users’ motivations, content preferences, and service demands are different, and different groups have differences in pictures. For users whose main purpose is not to give rewards, offline gold coins can reduce the user’s sense of workload and allow their attention to return to the story.”
According to Beijing News, Hongguo’s short drama “Earn Gold Coins by Watching Shows” has been offline for three years and has entered the “screening” period, turning into a second part of development that is refined, focused on revenue, and focusing on high-quality content. Internet industry analyst Zhang Shule believes that the users who lost gold coins are only those who were lured to stop, and are not the audience that Hongguo’s short drama needs. The function of temptation is to induce netizens to enter and eventually convert into short drama fans. Therefore, even if a small number of users are lost, it will only make the user profile more pure.
He said that on Hongguo short plays, the novice period of short drama makers is over. With the accumulation of large-scale content, the refinement of audience images can directly lead creators to enter real high-quality competition and break the barriers of existing short dramas that are homogeneous and routine. “After all, short plays also follow the 80-20 rule. To get the most profit, you must have enough “2’s.”
Sui Yifei, head of Hongguo short drama operations, said at the first short drama industry conference that users’ viewing logic is actively developing from “watching what they see” to “recognizing people, brands and series.”
Summary FAQ
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Mainly in response to external controversy about user addiction, by reminding people to take a break if they watch for too long or use it late at night, it reduces the risk of long-term binge watching addiction and allows users to return their attention to the content.
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The official announcement shows that it is expected that the gold coin function will not be provided to new users from November 1, 2026, and will be completely offline before the end of December 2026; The gold coins and cash balance received can still be exchanged and withdrawn.
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Analysts believe that eliminating gold coins can eliminate low-stick users who mainly come for rewards, make the platform’s audience more pure, and encourage creators to actually participate in high-quality competitions, thereby improving uniformity and routine problems.
