The Influence of Social Platforms on Chinese Students' Decision to Study Abroad in the UK

In recent years, studying abroad has become an increasingly important educational pathway for Chinese students, with the UK emerging as a favored destination for its prestigious universities, international environment, and long-standing academic reputation. This study investigates how Chinese students and their parents perceive and make decisions about studying in the UK, particularly focusing on how these perceptions are formed and reflected through Xiaohongshu, a famous Chinese social media platform. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research combines a quantitative survey of 75 university students in China with qualitative analysis of over 16,000 tokens of user-generated text from Xiaohongshu, using Python tools for sentiment analysis, keyword extraction, and topic modeling. The results reveal that while students are largely motivated by educational quality, global rankings, and career advancement, concerns about tuition costs, language barriers, and safety remain prominent; based on these insights, the study recommends that UK institutions enhance their presence on Chinese digital platforms and offer more personalized cultural and emotional support to better address the needs of prospective international students.