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Curriculum Vitae

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Download CV (PDF)

Education

PhD Student, Department of Communication, University of California, Davis, Sept. 2025 – June 2030 (Expected). Supervised by Soojong Kim
Research Master, Communication Science, University of Amsterdam, Sept. 2023 – June 2025. Supervised by Anne Kroon
MSc, Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science, Sept. 2018 – Nov. 2019
BA, Journalism, Renmin University of China, Sept. 2014 – June 2018
- Exchange Student, Communication, National Chengchi University, Sept. 2016 – Jan. 2017

Publications

Kim, S., Kim, H., Kim, K., & Zhu, D. (2026). Algorithmic Portrayals of Mental Health Stigma: Quantifying the Gap Between AI Estimations and Human Perceptions Across Gender Groups. Social Science & Medicine. [Under Revision]

Conference Presentations

[7] Kim, S., Kim, H., Kim, K., & Zhu, D. (2026). Algorithmic portrayals of mental health stigma: Quantifying the gap between AI estimations and human perceptions across gender groups.

Are Housewives Getting Depressed? A Machine Learning Study Based on YouTube

Thu, 30 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper was accepted by the 74th International Communication Association (ICA) Regional Hub Beijing.

Abstract

This study aims to explore housewives’ digital expression based on 1800 videos from YouTube using a supervised machine learning approach.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has symptoms including feeling depressed or sad, loss of interest, etc., lasting at least two weeks, according to the American Psychiatric Association. It is considered the leading cause of “disease-related disability” among females according to the World Health Organization’s Global Burden of Disease, with females being at 1.5 to 3 times higher risk than males (Kessler, 2003).

The Diving Online? Mapping Algorithmic Cospirituality on TikTok

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This research was a group project from the Digital Methods Initiative Summer School 2023 at the University of Amsterdam.

Full Project Report

Introduction

Conspirituality is a politico-spiritual philosophy from Ward and Voas (2011) which draws attention towards the idea that individuals interested in spirituality and alternative belief systems exhibit flexibility towards traditional belief systems or organizational structures and privilege alternative, even deviant or stigmatized, claims to truth. These individuals, therefore, run the risk of entertaining or promoting various conspiracy theories online. Our project examines this phenomenon within the context of algorithm-dominated platforms (i.e. TikTok) to further understand how people come to know their own social, political, and religious/spiritual realities. Further, the dynamic of humanalgorithm relations introduces an additional layer of complexity in the formation of ideas related to algorithms. This curiosity can be best described by the idea of algorithmic conspirituality which brings together ideas related to faith in algorithms, spirituality, and conspiracy (Cotter et al., 2022).

Revolution by Other Memes: Online Subcultures, Modular Ideologies and the Political Compass

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This paper was a group project from the Digital Methods Initiative Summer School 2023 at the University of Amsterdam.

Full Project Report

Individual Work

Created in 2017, r/PoliticalCompassMemes grew in popularity in 2020 as a space to classify political ideologies by locating all manner of phenomena - from the welfare state to Wojak avatars - on the political compass image macro. The memes address political style instead of political substance, treating issues and events as occasions to recalibrate the compass. Our analysis yielded four main findings: 1) ‘meta’ and ‘based" memes that give insight into group identity and interplay between groups, 2) how symbols, public figures, and signs are remixed and utilized to build identity within the subreddit at large and within the political categories, and 3) how issue spaces provide insight into a politics of (memetic and stylistic) participation rather than serious political engagement.

Keep Life Rolling, Keep Life Running!

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Xiaomi POP Run is a highly successful domestic marketing campaign that has been held several times in China, encouraging users to adopt healthy lifestyles. In 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions, I spearheaded a virtual run contest to promote exercise and well-being at home. This online event garnered impressive global participation, attracting over 27,000 users over a three-week period. Building on this success, we organized smaller-scale offline POP Run events in 2022, which were also well-received.

Make Smart Living a Reality for Everyone!

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I led a very meaningful project during my three-year work experience at Xiaomi. The project involved using Xiaomi Smart AIoT products to renovate the homes of brand users for free who were in need.

The participants in this project include:

A poor but lovely family from the Philippines. The elder daughter registered for the event and asked if we could provide her with a better study environment and reduce her mother’s burden.
A couple from Vietnam who adopted several children and are seeking better living environments for the kids.
A doctor from Italy who contributed significantly during the pandemic and wishes to have a relaxing home environment for himself and his mother.

My role in this project was as follows:

The Day We Celebrated the New Year 24 Times!

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This is a very special campaign as it is my first time working independently as a project manager, just six months into my first full-time job. We completed a global marketing event – inviting our users from every time zone in the world to celebrate New Year together!

Introduction

The campaign, titled Xiaomi POP - 24 New Years, hosted a 24-hour livestream starting from New Zealand, where the time is the earliest (GMT+12) and has the very first New Year worldwide, and ended at Aitutaki, one of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific (GMT-10), the last time zone globally. From each time zone, we invited one individual or a group of brand users (actual users, not actors) to join the livestream and record their moments as the new year arrived. A total of 34 cities and 102 users from around the world participated, and the livestream ultimately garnered over 102 million impressions and 2 million clicks.

Media Analysis Articles that I Published from 2017 to 2020

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I started working as a freelancer for Tencent, one of the biggest Internet companies in China, from 2017 to 2020. My main job was to write articles related to the latest domestic and global social media trends and news consumption. Over the three years, I wrote over 300,000 Chinese characters and received a total readership of over 2.5 million, with many articles reposted by influential media outlets nationwide.

Here are some of the article links (in Chinese):

Females, Male Homosexuality and Gender Hegemony: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Boys' Love Novels in the Chinese Context

Sat, 31 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This research was my graduate thesis (Merit) from the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Abstract

There is a growing trend in China where Boys’ Love novels, featuring romantic stories between gay men, are experiencing significant popularity among female readers. However, these novels also face ongoing regulations by authorities. Issues of gender and homosexuality have been a topic of discussion for over ten decades, with close connections to power and hegemony.

Innovation in Writing of We-Media Accounts: A Case Study of the Jiang Ge Tokyo Murder Trial

Fri, 31 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This research was my undergraduate thesis (Distinction) from the School of Journalism at the Renmin University of China.

Abstract

In November 2017, the murder case of Jiang Ge, a Chinese female student studying in Japan, garnered long-term attention on Chinese social media platforms. We-Media, particularly WeChat subscription accounts, played a significant role in capturing public attention, setting the agenda for discussions, and disseminating information during the trial. This paper aims to explore how We-Media writing skills have innovated and developed, using the depictions of the Jiang Ge murder case from WeChat subscription accounts as a case study.

About Hugo Ivy

Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This Hugo theme was ported from Ivy, a minimalist website generator built in Python. I don’t have time to document this theme. You have to read the source code to understand what it can do. All I can say for now is that I love it. It is clean, minimal, and responsive.

I hope you will enjoy this theme. The source code is on Github. Happy hacking!

Marketing Achievements

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Streamed New Year's Across 24 Timezones in One Livestream: First-Ever Global Celebration

Led Successful Online Challenge: 27,000 Participants Embraced Daily Running

Empowered Families in Need Through Free Smart Living Solutions

Media Analysis Articles that I Published from 2017 to 2020

Research Projects

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Research Projects

Using Python

06/2024, Conference, Are Housewives Getting Depressed? A Machine Learning Study Based on YouTube, 74th International Communication Association (ICA) Regional Hub, Beijing, China. [link] [dataset] [code]

05/2024, Coursework, Data Retrieval and Analysis Based on API at Schiphol Airport, Big Data and Automated Content Analysis, University of Amsterdam [code]

07/2023, Workshop, Revolution By Other Memes: Online Subcultures, Modular Ideologies And The Political Compass, Digital Methods Initiative Summer School, University of Amsterdam [poster] [link]

07/2023, Workshop, The Divine Online? Mapping Algorithmic Conspirituality on TikTok, Digital Methods Initiative Summer School, University of Amsterdam [link]

Using R

01/2024, Group coursework, Visualization of University Students' Alcohol Use, Snack Consumption, and Sports Participation, Using R for Data Wrangling, Analysis and Visualization, University of Amsterdam [report]

Qualitative Studies

08/2019, Thesis, Females, Male Homosexuality and Gender Hegemony: A Qualitative Analysis of Boy’s Love Novels in the Chinese Context, Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science [abstract]

06/2018, Thesis, Innovation in Discourse Writing of We-Media Accounts: Taking the Jiang Ge Tokyo Murder Case as an Example, School of Journalism, Renmin University of China [abstract]

Social Practice

11/2017, Report, Innovation in Communicating Public Information with New Media - a Case Study of the Yinchuan Government, Undergraduate Research Foundation, Renmin University of China