Ken is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Journalism, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University. He received his PhD from City University of Hong Kong

Ken’s research centers around technology-mediated supportive communication, digital well-being, and AI-powered persuasion. His research has appeared in reputable and high-impact communication and social science journals, including Journal of Advertising, Communication Research, Computers in Human Behavior, and Telematics & Informatics. He has secured two competitive research grants from Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council (RGC), one as the principal investigator.

Research Interests

• Digital media and well-being
• Technology-mediated supportive communication
• AI-powered persuasion

Publications

Journal Articles

Chu, T. H., Liu, D. & Gan H. (2026) Should ads be assertive? A meta-analytic review of the effects of assertive language on perceived freedom threat, state reactance, and persuasion outcomes. Journal of Advertising. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2026.2725644

Chu, T. H. (2026). Development and validation of the distress disclosure risk scale: Assessing perceived costs to self and others in communicating one’s troubles. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407526145443

Chu, T. H., Looi, J. & Liu, D. (2026). A meta-analytic comparison of human influencers and virtual influencers across different levels of human-likeness: Is humanness more persuasive? Journal of Advertising Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2026.2620892

Yeo, T. E. D., Chu, T. H., & Li, Q. (2025). How persuasive is personalized advertising? A meta-analytic review of experimental evidence of the effects of personalization on ad effectiveness. Journal of Advertising Research. 65(4), 616-631. (The Runner Up Prize for Best Paper published in JAR in 2025) https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2467763

Chu, T. H. & Jiang, C. L. (2024). Examining the link between distressing life events, social media distress disclosure, and perceived stress: A moderated mediation model. Computers in Human Behavior. 151, 108018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.108018

Yeo, T.E.D. & Chu, T. H. (2024). Adaptive self-reflection as a social media self-effect: Insights from computational text analyses of self-disclosures of unreported sexual victimization in a hashtag campaign. Social Science Computer Review. 43(2), 341-355. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393241252640

Chu, T. H. & Xiao, F. (2023). Applying stages of change model to examine online peer communication on binge eating. Health Communication. 38(13), 3012-3021. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2129640

Chu, T. H., Sun, M., & Jiang, L. C. (2023). Self-disclosure in social media and psychological well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 40(2), 576-599. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075221119429

Wang, S., Chu, T. H. & Huang, G. (2023). Do bandwagon cues affect credibility perceptions? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Communication Research. 50(6), 720-744. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502221124395

Chu, T. H., Yeo, T. E. D. & Su, Y. (2022). Effects of exposure to COVID-19 news and information: A meta-analysis of media use and uncertainty-related responses during the pandemic. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 99(1), 89-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990211068857

Jiang, L. C., Sun, M., Chu, T. H., & Chia S. C. (2022). Inoculation works and health advocacy backfires: Building resistance to COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in a low political trust context. Frontiers in Psychology. 13, 976091. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.976091

Chu, T. H., Su, Y., Kong. H., Wang, X., & Shi, J. (2021). Online social support for intimate partner violence victims in China: Quantitative and automatic content analysis. Violence Against Women. 27(3-4), 339-358. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801220911452

Jiang, L.C., Chu, T. H., & Sun, M. (2021). Characterizing vaccine tweets during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States: A topic modeling analysis. JMIR Infodemiology. 1(1). https://doi.org/10.2196/25636

Chu, T. H. (2020). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between social media use and employee outcomes. Telematics and Informatics. 50, 101379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2020.101379

Chu, T. H. & Yeo, T. E. D. (2020). Rethinking mediated political engagement: Social media ambivalence and disconnective practices of politically active youths in Hong Kong. Chinese Journal of Communication. 13(2), 148-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2019.1634606

Yeo, T. E. D. & Chu, T. H. (2018). Beyond homonegativity: Understanding Hong Kong people’s attitudes about social acceptance of gay/lesbian people, sexual orientation discrimination protection, and same-sex marriage. Journal of Homosexuality, 65(10),1372-1390. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2017.1375363

Yeo, T. E. D. & Chu, T. H. (2017). Social-cultural factors of HIV-related stigma among the Chinese general population in Hong Kong. AIDS Care, 29(10), 1255-1259. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2017.1282601

Yeo, T. E. D. & Chu, T. H. (2017). Sharing “Sex Secrets” on Facebook: A content analysis of youth peer communication and advice exchange on social media about sexual health and intimate relations. Journal of Health Communication, 22(9), 753-762. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2017.1347217

Grants

2026/27. Principal investigator. Scrolling into Distress? A Three-Wave Longitudinal Investigation of How and When Short-Form Video Affects Hong Kong Adolescents’ Well-being. General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grants Council, $495,400.

2025/26. Co-Investigator. Temporal dynamics of young people’s social media use and well- being: A continuous time meta-analysis of longitudinal research. General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grants Council, $522,980.

Editorial Boards

Sage Open, Communication and Media Section (Associate Editor)