The Day Elmo Broke the Internet and Sparked a National Conversation

There are 4.8 billion people on social media worldwide. Millions of them suffer from mental health conditions. Here in the States, a mental health crisis has been looming. Suicide rates are up, American youth are experiencing thoughts of suicide at alarming rates, over half of U.S. adults with a mental illness don’t receive treatment, and even the U.S. Surgeon General raised a mental health crisis alarm in 2023.  

So it’s no wonder why, when Elmo asked how his friends were doing on Twitter/X, the post blew up. 

But it wasn’t just Twitter/X. It was TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. It got over 200 million views in just a week. 

As you can see in the replies, this post hit a nerve. A national nerve highlighting just how bad our collective mental health is these days. 

My own mother teared up when she saw the story on the news. Why? Because some of us are experiencing so much loneliness and isolation, all it took was a little red puppet checking in to open the floodgates. This user sums it up perfectly: 

Dammit_janet_67 (IG): Elmo - causing one of the most honest conversations about our collective mental health crisis and the lack of awareness and understanding is amazing, and sad and heartbreaking.

The conversations this post sparked were almost too much for one little red puppet to handle.

Even big business got in on the action.

Make it stand out

The post went so viral that Sesame Street saw the impact and immediately launched its #EmotionalWellness Campaign. 

The Isolation is Real

Why did Elmo’s check-in go so viral? In a world where everyone is connected with everyone else at all times, some of us are struggling more with isolation and loneliness than ever before. While we mindlessly scroll our socials, we miss out on real human connection. We miss out on the chance to connect with anyone on a real level, which negatively impacts the social creatures that we are. We rely on cooperation and collaboration to survive and thrive. 

Oxytocin (sometimes known as the love hormone) is a powerful hormone for feeling good and loved, and it “plays a key role in social cognition [and] in social behaviors,” according to multiple studies. Without the chance to socialize and boost our oxytocin, fear and anxiety can become dysfunctional. All that isolation we experienced during the 2020 pandemic led to a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.    

The US Department of Health and Human Services sums up our isolation problem well, saying, “While the epidemic of loneliness and isolation is widespread and has profound consequences for our individual and collective health and well-being, there is a medicine hiding in plain sight: social connection.” 

Why Talking about Our Mental Health Crisis Matters

Not talking about our mental health does nothing but further the stigma surrounding it. When no one talks, everyone thinks they’re in this world alone. But when millions of people are experiencing mental health challenges, it's our own storms that prevent us from seeing others who are also struggling. SAMSHA says, “It is important to normalize conversations surrounding mental health so people can feel empowered to seek the help they need.” With more people than ever before experiencing anxiety and depression, it’s time to normalize the conversation around mental health and normalize seeking treatment. 

Talking about mental health is not enough. Taking action is necessary to break down stigma. So, what can you do? 

How to Help Heal ourselves and our friends 

Sesame Street saw the need and launched its #EmotionalWellbeing Campaign. The first line in Sesame Street’s campaign includes this: “Mental Health IS Health!” And they are so right. Sesame Street drives the point home with a fun video featuring Elmo and his dad, plus a few other Sesame families. If you are ready for a sweet cry, check it out here.

Many of us don't have the same influence as Sesame Street, but we can still influence the people in our own lives. Maybe that means reaching out to friends and checking in on loved ones. Maybe that means volunteering with your local NAMI or another local non-profit. Maybe that means taking care of your own mental health and sharing your story without shame. Maybe that just means reaching out for help when you need it most.

If you haven’t already heard, 988 is our national suicide and mental health crisis line. It’s a direct connection to compassionate care and support for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis by a trained professional. Instead of calling 911 and getting law enforcement, you can call 988 and get a trained crisis counselor who can help. They report that, “ In 2020 alone, the U.S. had one death by suicide about every 11 minutes.” So, when 988 launched in July 2022, nearly five million phone calls or texts were answered in just the first year. Was the rollout perfect? No. But it was the first step in the right direction. It is a step toward making help more accessible for the millions of Americans who need it. When Elmo reached out, 988 did too. 

We all know the downfalls of social media at this point. The negativity is palpable and the isolation is real, yet it’s still hard to turn away. As of 2023, there were 4.8 billion social media users worldwide—that is just over half of the global population. It depends on the platform, but most of our social feeds represent both the worst of us and the best of us. The day Elmo took the time to check in, my timeline became a national conversation about mental health. And that was wonderful to experience. We are all fighting battles that no one else sees until someone, or some puppet, takes the time to check-in.