1. Introduction

Previously, the famous writer Jiang Fangzhou proposed that if the era of male dominance was Web 1.0, then the Internet has now entered Web 2.0, meaning that social development has gradually entered the era of female dominance [1]. In today's society, an increasing number of women are starting businesses online, capitalising on their expertise in collaborative teamwork, sales, and their sensitivity to online trends and popular culture. Through live streaming and online sales, they are creating economic value and gradually forming a 'she economy.’ This paper examines the development and rise of digital media, its developmental context, and specific forms of development. It explores how women are leveraging this trend to transition from traditional roles in the media industry from the old ones like news reporting and hosting to creating their own self-media accounts and generating economic value, thereby empowering the 'she economy.’ Through this research, the paper aims to identify additional career opportunities for women and provide insights into increasing entrepreneurial opportunities.

2. The development of digital media and the rise of the She Economy

2.1. Definition of digital media

The continuous development of digital technology and information technology has had a profound impact on all industries. Digital media art is a modern art form that integrates computer technology, digital technology, and traditional artistic techniques. Digital media art is a product of the information age, where digital media artists utilise digital creation tools and expression media for artistic creation and processing, producing a richer and more diverse range of artistic works. These tools and media not only provide new means of creation but also enrich their forms of expression, enabling artistic works to be presented in interactive, dynamic, and multimedia formats [2].

2.2. The application of digital media technology in social media

2.2.1. Multimedia content creation and presentation

Digital media technology is widely used in social media platforms for the creation and presentation of multimedia content. With advanced image processing, audio editing, and video production tools, users can easily create a wide variety of multimedia content, such as short videos, picture stories, and audio podcasts. This content is not only highly creative and entertaining, but can also be quickly disseminated through social media platforms, attracting the attention and interaction of a large number of users.

2.2.2. Data analysis and user behaviour insights

On social media platforms, digital media technology collects user behaviour data on the platform, including browsing history, likes, and comments. Digital Media technology can perform in-depth mining and analysis of this data to reveal which can not only help businesses better understand user needs and market trends, but also provide strong support for product development and marketing strategies, and allow platforms to optimise content recommendations and ad placements, improving the accuracy and effectiveness of information dissemination. In addition, digital media technology can also be used to analyse user behaviour patterns and preferences.

2.2.3. Personalised recommendations and targeted marketing

Based on the results of data analysis using digital media technology, social media platforms can achieve personalised recommendations and precision marketing. Through in-depth analysis of user behaviour data and interest preferences, platforms can recommend content and products that suit users' tastes, thereby improving user satisfaction and retention. At the same time, companies can also use these analysis results for precision marketing, accurately delivering advertisements and promotional information to target audiences, thereby improving click-through rates and conversion rates [3].

2.3. The effectiveness of digital media technology in social media platforms

Based on the application of digital media on social media platforms, the scope of communication has been expanded to a certain extent, and interaction between users has been enhanced. Social media platforms can attract more users and traffic, thereby attracting more advertisers and partners, which brings more business opportunities to the platform. Social media platforms actively explore innovative content formats to attract more users and commercial entities, such as introducing new media formats, such as short videos, live streaming, and virtual reality to provide a more diverse and interesting experience for the platform.

2.4. She Economy

'She Economy’ means the female economy; it refers to the unique economic circle and economic phenomena formed around female consumption. In other words, with the improvement of women's economic and social status, a unique economic phenomenon has emerged around female consumption. Due to women's enthusiasm for consumption, the effect on the economy is obvious, so it is called the 'she economy.’ The 'she economy’ discussed in this article refers not only to women's shopping on the Internet and online shopping malls, but also to women gaining exposure through interactions and posts on social media, thereby increasing their popularity. When an individual's account reaches the level of a blogger, they can generate profits through live streaming sales or advertising, thereby creating economic value.

3. The impact of digital media development on the empowerment of the She Economy

Digital media and the internet are key tools for women to develop their economy. The internet is an important economic force that cannot be ignored in today's society. Its invention has provided women with vast opportunities and conditions for development and progress. In the current special historical context, women's entrepreneurship and development have become an inevitable trend.

3.1. Low barriers to entry

Through actual research and development, the average startup capital for women-owned stores on the Tmall platform is approximately 200,000 yuan, which is far lower than the average registered capital of 5 million yuan required for newly registered physical businesses. Behind these diverse and abundant products, the identity of the entrepreneurs is also unrestricted. They could be ordinary housewives, students, or single mothers. Behind these diverse and abundant products, the identities of entrepreneurs are not restricted; they could be ordinary housewives, students, single mothers, and so on. Precisely because the barriers to entry for this work are relatively low and the risks are relatively small, an increasing number of women are leveraging e-commerce to better achieve and realize their entrepreneurial dreams.

3.2. Characteristics of women suitable for internet entrepreneurship

Through actual research, it has been found that compared to men, women often have a faster acceptance of fashion concepts or items, and when providing services, they have a more detailed and profound understanding, with a more precise grasp of details than men. Additionally, due to their innate nature, women possess greater patience, which can also help them accurately grasp customer needs and make appropriate adjustments based on those needs. These characteristics align well with the demands of the internet economy era, emphasizing user experience, emotional thinking, and communication efficiency [1].

4. Specific case studies of the impact of digital media development on the She Economy

4.1. The She Economy on Xiaohongshu

Before introducing the “she economy” on Xiaohongshu, it is important to first understand the operational mechanisms of the Xiaohongshu platform and how digital media is applied within this platform. Liu Danqing and Xia liangkang believe that Xiaohongshu, as an emerging internet “community,” has attracted a large number of users to record and share their lives by posting notes, thereby rising to become the most popular mobile app among women [4]. As an early user of Xiaohongshu, it can be observed that the platform primarily focuses on sharing information. The content has evolved from initial beauty tips and product recommendations to current travel guides, lifestyle hacks, and emotional support. The majority of the content is geared toward topics that appeal to women, resulting in a platform with a higher proportion of female users. Women benefit from this content and gradually share their daily lives and similar experiences. In turn, as content creators, this has gradually formed a community of mutual support among women, becoming a female-dominated circle.

If we conduct research on the Xiaohongshu platform from a new media perspective, Zhang Xiaoyu believes that the fan economy is a social phenomenon worth paying attention to in the new media environment. Xiaohongshu contains a large amount of high-quality content related to people's daily lives and consumption. These diverse and personalized service and product information are accurately delivered to the corresponding users through big data, new media tools, and artificial intelligence technology, which not only greatly enhances users' interest and favorability towards the content, but also has a significant impact on social consumption and economic growth [4]. Once a certain level of follower count is achieved, it signifies that the user has gained a certain level of fame and influence, which can then be leveraged to endorse specific products and earn advertising fees. The more followers a user has, the greater their influence, and the higher the advertising fees they can earn. This is the most basic way for users to convert their follower count into economic benefits. Xiaohongshu focuses on user-to-user sharing and interaction, using big data and artificial intelligence to curate content within the community and deliver it precisely to interested audiences. This mechanism further enhances advertising effectiveness, making it the primary economic benefit of the platform. Some well-known Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) can also generate economic benefits by recommending quality products through live streaming.

4.2. The She Economy on Douyin

The principle behind Douyin and Xiaohongshu is the same: female users derive pleasure from watching short videos, which satisfies their entertainment needs and inspires them to want to create their own short videos, thereby becoming creators. Take full-time mothers within the female demographic as an example. As a short-video platform focused on entertainment, Douyin primarily attracts attention through humorous and funny content, music and fashion, and influencer trends. Full-time mothers can use TikTok as a form of entertainment during their free time while raising children. While using TikTok, some full-time mothers transition from passive viewers to active participants, joining the ranks of those who 'play’ with TikTok. For the majority of full-time mothers, the initial motivation for using TikTok is straightforward and does not involve excessive utilitarian pursuits [5].

Based on the content posted by bloggers who have self-identified as 'full-time mothers’ on the Douyin platform, most full-time mothers still use Douyin primarily for entertainment purposes and have not yet begun to pursue profit-driven goals. The content posted by these full-time mothers primarily consists of everyday-life-themed content such as 'cute kids,’ 'selfies,’ and 'casual snapshots.’ The visuals are not intentionally adjusted or edited, and the filming style typically employs a 'single-take’ approach. The video quality, due to smartphone pixel limitations and platform compression, often appears blurry rather than high-definition. Recording and uploading interesting aspects of daily life to the Douyin platform is the primary way they 'us’ Douyin.

Their social interactions on Douyin are limited to acquaintances, and they have not been able to establish a large network of strangers. Full-time mothers who post videos on Douyin not only hope to receive likes and comments from their friends and family, but also hope to receive likes, shares, and comments from more people, so that they can gain recognition and acceptance from others and obtain psychological comfort and spiritual satisfaction. This psychological satisfaction drives them to constantly update their content. Some full-time mothers deepen their content creation and become more proficient in filming techniques, producing short videos that attract more fans and inspire them to continue creating.

Take the group of full-time mothers on Douyin as an example. By posting their own parenting videos, they not only alleviate the monotony of raising children, record their lives, and entertain themselves, but also gain followers. Once they establish themselves in a specific niche, more mothers with similar parenting issues will follow these parenting bloggers, thereby creating a fan base effect.

5. Conclusion

This paper mainly discusses the definitions of digital media and multimedia, data analysis and targeted marketing mechanisms, and the application of digital media technology in social media. In summary, in the digital economy era, short video bloggers have emerged as a new form of employment that attracts women, providing them with flexible job opportunities. This allows groups such as full-time mothers or female college students to balance their careers and family life, enabling ordinary women to transition into “online influencers” and achieve a cross-class identity transformation. However, one cannot remain entirely optimistic about the current employment environment in the internet industry. In the increasingly competitive short video platforms and e-commerce industry, one must possess the skills to navigate this complex environment. For women who have had limited exposure to the internet and have lower educational levels, this presents a significant challenge. However, this paper has not yet conducted quantitative statistical analysis to identify the popular fields of internet employment for women or the areas in which women are more inclined to engage in entrepreneurship. Future researchers on this topic may conduct quantitative studies on the extent of internet entrepreneurship and its associated revenue levels.