Ken CHU

Ken Tsz Hang Chu (Ph.D., City University of Hong Kong) is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Studies, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University. His research has appeared in reputable and high-impact communication and social science journals, including Communication Research, Computers in Human Behavior, and Telematics & Informatics.

Ken’s research centers around two core areas: (a) interactive advertising and AI-powered persuasion, and (b) digitally mediated self-disclosure and support communication. His work on interactive advertising and AI-powered persuasion have investigated how consumers respond to algorithmic influence in digital environments, examining the impact of bandwagon cues on credibility perceptions and the privacy paradox between perceived relevance and intrusiveness in personalized advertising. Meanwhile, his research on digitally mediated self-disclosure and support communication encompasses both self-effects and exposure effects on well-being. This research has examined the effects of social media self-disclosure on psychological well-being, stages of change in online binge eating disclosures, the impact of social media distress disclosure on perceived stress related to difficult life events, and the potential for adaptive self-reflection of unreported victimization in a social media hashtag campaign.

Research Interests

• Interactive advertising and AI-powered persuasion
• Digitally mediated self-disclosure and support communication

Publications

Journal Articles

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. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2467763 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [ESCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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 [SSCI]

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

Selected Recent Conference Presentations

Looi, J., Chu, T. H., & Liu, D. (2025, June). Integrating frameworks in human-computer interaction: A meta-analytic comparison of human and virtual influencers with varying levels of anthropomorphism. International Communication Association (ICA) annual conference, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Chu, T. H., Yeo, T. E. D., & Li, Q. (2024, June). The persuasive effects of personalized advertising: A meta-analytic review. International Communication Association (ICA) annual conference, Gold Coast, Australia.

Chu, T. H., Yeo, T. E. D., & Su, Y. (2022, May). A meta-analysis of media exposure and uncertainty-related responses during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. International Communication Association (ICA) annual conference, Paris, France.

Grants

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.