Tien Ee Dominic YEO

Dominic Yeo (pronounced “Yo”) is a tenured associate professor at the Department of Communication Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University. Born and raised in Singapore, he graduated with a PhD in social and developmental psychology from University of Cambridge and a first class honours bachelor’s degree in communication from National University of Singapore.

Prof. Yeo’s research primarily examines communication practices and sociocultural phenomena around sexuality, health, and technology, particularly among sexual minorities and youth. The overarching concern of his scholarship is how social actors negotiate emergent and problematised ideas and practices. He was awarded two competitive research grants from Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council (RGC), under the General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) respectively, to investigate young people’s use of social media (mobile apps & social network sites) and the implications for their wellbeing. His work has been published in flagship communication journals such as Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Mobile Media & Communication, Health Communication, and Journal of Health Communication. He is an associate editor of Personal Relationships and serves on the editorial boards of Communication Theory (a flagship journal of International Communication Association), Mobile Media & Communication, and Culture, Health & Sexuality.

Prof. Yeo is especially interested to work with PhD students on one or more of the following research areas: (a) communication aspects of psychological well-being and/or sexuality; (b) impacts of mobile, wearable, artificial intelligence, or other digital technologies on identity, relationships, and/or health; and (c) emerging and/or controversial phenomena related to social media, artificial intelligence, or other innovations.

Editorial Boards

Personal Relationships (Associate Editor)

Communication Theory

Mobile Media & Communication

Culture, Health & Sexuality

Research Interests

Social media use, particularly in relation to psychological well-being and intimacy
Self-disclosure and supportive communication mediated by social media and AI

Publications

Journal Articles

Yeo, T. E. D. & Chu, T. H. (2025). 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. [SSCI]

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. [SSCI]

Liu, P. L. & Yeo, T. E. D.* (2025). Patient-Centered Communication and Mental Health of Sexual Minority Adults: A Moderated Mediation Model. Health Communication. Advance online publication. [SSCI] * Corresponding author

Xiao, F. & Yeo, T. E. D.* (2024). Peer Appraisal, Participatory Surveillance, and Experiential Mentoring: Explicating Communicative Practices of Participatory Learning in an Online Support Group for People With Binging Experiences. Chinese Journal of Communication, 17(4), 416-434.  [SSCI] * Corresponding author

Liu, P. L., & Yeo, T. E. D. (2024). Social Grooming on Social Media and Older Adults’ Life Satisfaction: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model. Social Science Computer Review, 42(4), 913-929. [SSCI]

Yeo, T. E. D. (2024). Reconciling Intimacy and Safety: A Qualitative Systematic Review of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Implementation Among Gay and Bisexual Men. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 26(7), 952-967. [SSCI]

Liu, P. L., Yeo, T. E. D.*, & Ye, J. F. (2024). Examining the Intervening Roles of Patient-Centered Care and Patient Activation in the Health Impacts of Offline Healthcare Obstacles and Online Health Consultations Among Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Patients. Health Communication, 39(11), 2366-2375. [SSCI] * Corresponding author

Liu, P. L. & Yeo, T. E. D. (2023). How Online Patient-Provider Communication Impacts Quality of Life: Examining the Role of Patient-Centered Care and Health Competence. Health Communication, 38(3), 562-567. [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. [SSCI] * Corresponding author

Liu, P. L. & Yeo, T. E. D.* (2022). Weak Ties Matter: Social Network Dynamics of Mobile Media Multiplexity and the Impacts on the Social Support and Psychological Well-Being Experienced by Migrant Workers. Mobile Media & Communication, 10(1), 76-6. [SSCI] * Corresponding author

Yeo, T. E. D. (2021). “Do You Know How Much I Suffer?”: How Young People Negotiate the Tellability of Their Mental Health Disruption in Anonymous Distress Narratives on Social Media. Health Communication, 36(13), 1606-1615. [SSCI]

Liu, P. L. & Yeo, T. E. D.* (2021). Breast Health, Risk Factors, and Cancer Screening Among Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer/Questioning Women in China. Health Care for Women International, 42(7-9), 947-961. [SSCI] * Corresponding author

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. [SSCI] * Corresponding author

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. [SSCI]

Huang, L. V. & Yeo, T. E. D. (2018). Tweeting #Leaders: Social Media Communication and Retweetability of Fortune 1000 Chief Executive Officers on Twitter. Internet Research, 28(1), 123-142. [SSCI]

Yeo, T. E. D. & Fung, T. H. (2018). ‘Mr Right Now’: Temporality of Relationship Formation on Gay Mobile Dating Apps. Mobile Media & Communication, 6(1), 1372-1390. [SSCI]

Sheer, V. C., Chang, M., Yeo, T. E. D. (2018). Chinese Male Adolescents Resisting Cigarettes from Peers: Qualitative Research on Tactics, Perceptions, and Contextual Characteristics. Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 25(6), 483-490. [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), 1255-1259. [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. [SSCI]

Yeo, T. E. D. (2016). Communicating Legitimacy: How Journalists Negotiate the Emergence of User-Generated Content in Hong Kong. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 93(3), 609-626. [SSCI]

Yeo, T. E. D. & Ng, Y. L. (2016). Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Apps-Using Young Men Who Have Sex With Men in Hong Kong. AIDS Care, 28(3), 314-318. [SSCI]

Yeo, T. E. D. & Fung, T. H. (2016). Between ‘0’ and ‘1’ Safer Sex and Condom Use Among Young Gay Men in Hong Kong. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 18(3), 294-307. [SSCI]

Yeo, T.E.D. (2014). Negotiating Virtue and Vice: Articulations of Lay Conceptions of Health and Sustainability in Social Media Conversations Around Natural Beverages, Environmental Communication, 8(1), 39-57. [SSCI]

Yeo, T.E.D. (2012). Social-Media Early Adopters Don’t Count: How to Seed Participation in Interactive Campaigns by Psychological Profiling of Digital Consumers, Journal of Advertising Research, 52(3): 297-308. [SSCI]

Yeo, T. E. D. (2009). Cyber HIV/AIDS Intervention in Singapore: Collective Promises and Pitfalls. International Journal of Communication, 3, 1025-1051. [SSCI]

Parayil, G. & Yeo, T. E. D. (2005). More Than Electronic Toll Booths: The Electronic Road Pricing Innovation in Singapore. Prometheus, 23(2), 209-226.

Book Chapters

Chen, H., Sheer, V. C., & Yeo, T. E. D. (2023). What They Say and Do in Chinese Organizations: Examining the Four Aspects of Leader-Member Exchange of the LMX-COMM Model. In M. B. Hinner (Ed.), No Business without Communication: How Communication Can Shed Additional Light on Specific Business Contexts. Peter Lang.

Yeo, T. E. D. (2022). Models of Viral Propagation in Digital Contexts: How Messages and Ideas—From Internet Memes to Fake News—Created by Consumers, Bots, and Marketers Spread. In R. W. Belk and R. Llamas (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Digital Consumption (2nd ed). Routledge.

Liu, P. L. & Yeo, T. E. D. (2022). Challenges in Cancer Control Confronting the LGBT Population in China: Health Risks, Unique Barriers, and Unmet Needs. In U. Boehmer and G. Dennert (Eds.), LGBT Populations and Cancer in the Global Context. Springer.

Yeo, T. E. D. (2021). Safer Sex. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. Wiley.

Yeo, T. E. D. (2018). Media and Populations in Hong Kong. In Y. Huang and Y. Song (Eds.). The Evolving Landscape of Media and Communications in Hong Kong (pp. 259-276). City University of Hong Kong Press.

Yeo, T. E. D. (2013). Viral Propagation of Consumer- or Marketer-Generated Messages. In R. W. Belk and R. Llamas (Eds.). The Routledge Companion to Digital Consumption (pp. 273-283). Routledge.

Conference Papers (Published in Full Proceedings)

Yeo, T. E. D. & Chu, T. H. (2017). Promoting Hook-Ups or Filling Sexual Health Information Gaps?: Exploring Young People’s Sex Talk on Facebook. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Social Media & Society, New York, NY: ACM.

Yeo, T. E. D. & Ng, Y. L. (2016). The Roles of Sensation Seeking and Gratifications Sought in Social Networking Apps Use and Attendant Sexual Behaviors. Proceedings of the 7th 2016 International Conference on Social Media & Society, New York, NY: ACM.

Selected Recent Conference Presentations

Liu, D. & Yeo, T.E.D. (2025, June). How Social Media Engagement Galvanize Consumer Animosity and Foreign Resistance Intention: The Role of Agonistic and Retreat Emotions. Paper presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) annual conference, Denver, CO.

Xiao, F. & Yeo, T.E.D. (2024, June). A representative for all girls? The soft masculinity of male e-commerce streamers in the case of Li Jiaqi. Paper presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) annual conference, Gold Coast, Australia.

Chu, T. H. & Yeo, T. E. D. (2023, May). Identifying the Linguistic Patterns of Social Media Self-Disclosures of Sexual Assault and Expressed Barriers of Disclosure Using Computational Methods. Paper presented at International Communication Association (ICA) annual conference, Toronto, Canada.

.Yeo, T.E.D. & Chu, T. H. (2022, May). Renegotiating Safer Sex: Meta-Ethnography of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Adoption Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Cisgender Men Who Have Sex With Men. Paper presented at International Communication Association (ICA) annual conference, Paris, France.

Awards/Grants/Honors

Honors and Awards
Dean’s Excellence Award in Service, August 2024
School Outstanding Performance Award in Service, May 2024
School Outstanding Performance Award in Research Supervision, May 2019

Externally-Funded Research Grants
2015/2016
Principal Investigator, “The Impact of Social Media on Political Engagement and Contentious Political Behaviors among Hong Kong Youths,” Hong Kong Research Grants Council Early Career Scheme (ECS), Project number 22608115, HK$299,400.

2013/2014
Principal Investigator, “The Role of Social Networking Technologies in the Sexual Socialization of Gay Hong Kong Youths and the Implications for HIV Prevention,” Hong Kong Research Grants Council General Research Fund (GRF), Project number 249213, HK$273,268.

Internally-Funded Research Grants
2017/2018
Principal Investigator, “Examining Peer Advice Exchange on Sexual Health and Intimate Concerns among Hong Kong Youths through Facebook,” Faculty Research Grant (FRG), Hong Kong Baptist University, Project code FRG2/16-17/034, HK$135,000.

2016/2017
Principal Investigator, “Social Media, Civic Engagement, and Contentious Political Behaviors among Hong Kong Youths,” Faculty Research Grant (FRG), Hong Kong Baptist University, Project code FRG2/15-16/062, HK$89,991.

2015/2016
Principal Investigator, “Netnographic Study of Hong Kong Gay Youths’ Social Media Practices,” Faculty Research Grant (FRG), Hong Kong Baptist University, Project code FRG1/15-16/006, HK$50,000.