Dr. Waruwu, also known as Louis, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Creative Writing, HKBU. He holds a PhD in Media and Communication from City University of Hong Kong. His early fascination with the vibrant dynamics between digital culture and human interaction fuelled his interest in exploring the sociocultural implications of smartphones and social media on family intimacy, community building, relational stress and resilience. A native Indonesian, Louis moved abroad in 2011 and has since lived in Hong Kong, Taipei, and Singapore. This journey, too, has shaped his academic proclivities, attuning him to the politics and struggles of sustaining transnational relationships and identity during a prolonged separation. His current project focuses on how digital media influence the social, emotional and financial well-being of Filipino and Indonesian migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong. His research has been published in international peer-reviewed journals, including New Media & Society, Mobile Media & Communication, and Media, Culture, & Society.

1. Migration, financial behaviours, and family relationships of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong (in collaboration with Dr. Jordan LP (HKU) and Dr. Visaria S. (HKUST)
2. New media, stress and resilience among migrant workers in Hong Kong and their families in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Waruwu, B. K. (in press). The stories that tell us: Smartphones and the discursive reconstitution of transnational intimacy among migrant mothers. Media, Culture & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F01634437221111907 

Waruwu, B. K. (2021). Smartphone mothering and mediated family display: Transnational family practices in polymedia environment among Indonesian mothers in Hong Kong. Mobile Media & Communication, 10(1), 97-114.

Waruwu, B. K, Tandoc, E. C., Duffy, A., Kim, N., & Ling, R. (2020). Telling lies together? Sharing news as a form of social authentication. New Media & Society, 23(9), 2516-2533. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444820931017