Hi! I'm Emerson Johnston (she/her), a master's student in International Cyber Policy and Security at Stanford University and a Knight Hennessy Scholar. I study the relationship between the internet and identity, with a particular focus on the social media use of culturally displaced peoples.

Academically, my research combines ethnographic methods, network analysis, and archival research to investigate how social media affect self-actualization. I'm a research assistant for Dr. Amy Zegart and her Technology, Economics, and Governance working group at the Hoover Institution, and I'm also a regular contributor to the Stanford International Policy Review, where I write about how digital platforms affect geopolitics and modern warfare.

Professionally, I'm a research consultant at the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative, where I support projects related to cyber crime, cyber strategy, and information and communications technologies, as well as expand on my own research. Prior to that, my experience spans roles in the U.S. government, the U.S. military, and in private sector cyber security.

I am always open to collaboration, cold emails, and questions.

While you're here...

# Check out and follow the custom feed I run on BlueSky that tracks developments and discussions on internet cultures, subcultures, and countercultures

And for a laugh...

# Find out which subatomic particle you are with this cute persona quiz I made

# Watch my 2024 N.O.B.E.L. (not official but exceedingly ludacris) theories night presentation about the birth lottery and overlooked factors in academic success