In his effort to seek comfort from an iconic childhood friend, the Internet almost ruins Elmo.
The “Sesame Street” star’s viral tweet controlling everyone this week was written by her 25-year-old social media manager, who inadvertently turned X (formerly Twitter) into a therapist’s couch where users hang out. They opened up to the beloved Muppet—and the Internet—about their internal struggles.
For Christina Vittas, a resident of Hoboken, New Jersey, who has worked with Sesame Workshop since 2019, the response was “a whirlwind” she didn't anticipate.
The former intern who is now Sesame Workshop's social media manager told “Today” that she couldn't keep up with the responses to the iconic red muppet's innocent words. Tweet from January 29which was greeted with the verbalization of X users' depressing internal monologues and spurred conversations about mental health around the world, with nearly 200 million views to boot.
The well-intentioned question: “Elmo just signed up! How's everybody? – opened the existential floodgates and elicited many charged responses, from the terse to the worrying, weaving an overwhelming sense of dread along the thread. A constellation of celebrities, including Raquel Zegler, Dionne Warwick, Possibility that the rapper and T-painchimed in, as did Elmo's colorful neighbors from “Sesame Street” and president bidenwho highlighted the follow up tweet about controlling your friends.
Late-night host Stephen Colbert also gave “The Late Show” phenomenon a treatment on Wednesday, debuting “Trauma Me Elmo,” a satirical take on the beloved Tickle Me Elmo toy that has morbidly “gained awareness of the inevitability of human suffering.” He also cries on command, Colbert said.
Joking aside, the mental health crisis reached epidemic levels last year. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy issued an advisory on the country's “epidemic of loneliness and isolation,” noting that 1 in 2 adults in the United States reported experiencing loneliness even before the COVID-19 pandemic will separate so many people from friends, loved ones. and their support systems in early 2020. In California, lawmakers this week gave bipartisan support to Proposition 1, a March primary ballot measure aimed at addressing the state's dire homelessness and mental health crises.
So it's no surprise that back online, the Internet unpacked its emotional baggage and shared its collective angst with an eternally three-and-a-half-year-old Muppet, with users citing personal and global issues among their debilitating worries in a dark therapy session. digital.
“When I manage Elmo's social media, I'm always looking for new ways for Elmo to connect with his friends online. “This question seemed natural for a lovable and caring friend like Elmo, especially as he learns more and more about his own emotional well-being,” Vittas said Thursday in a statement to The Times.
She's grateful that the tweet has “opened conversations about the serious mental health crisis in our country and grateful that here at Sesame Workshop we can support children and families at this time with our Emotional Wellness resources,” she added. “Elmo did that. And if a three-and-a-half-year-old Sesame Street Muppet can do that, why can't any of us too?
Vittas also told “Today” that he couldn't keep up with the responses, something he does regularly to make users' days “a little brighter.”
Many people also felt Vittas' unique pain that day, with X user Brittny Pierre (@sleep2dream) tweeting a gif of Kieran Culkin's Roman Roy in “Succession” flooded with emails: “Elmo's social media manager reads all the responses as…” Pierre wrote.
That particular tweet shocked Vittas.
“I really appreciate it personally,” he told “Today.” “We all think Elmo is a living, breathing monster on Sesame Street, but there are people who understand that this is social media, there's someone behind the scenes doing the work, and I felt a great response from the marketing community.”
Vittas channels the little red monster online by studying “Sesame Street” performer Ryan Dillon, as well as the show's content, guest stars and company initiatives. By the way, this isn't his only claim to fame during his tenure at Elmo. Vittas was also involved in Elmo's early 2022 rivalry with Rocco, the pet rock belonging to Elmo's “Sesame Street” co-star Abby Cadabby.
“I thought I was never going to be better than Elmo and Rocco, and then this happened,” Vittas said. “I feel like lightning struck twice, and then some.”
Elmo's simple question also got Sesame Workshop's “adults” working behind the nonprofit's mission of helping children “grow smarter, stronger and kinder.”
“Take advantage of the interest in Elmo's tweet to publish it the quote tweet of 'Sesame Street' with emotional well-being resources is exactly what Sesame Workshop was created to do,” Aaron Bisman, Sesame Workshop's vice president of audience development, said in a statement to The Times on Wednesday. “Many of our social posts are designed to make audiences smile or laugh, while others promote and share resources for children and the parents, caregivers and loved ones who make up their circle of care.”
Bisman said his team helps Elmo and his “Sesame Street” friends with their social media accounts (there are 50 in total) and is aware of their reach.
“[O]Our social media team is aware of the relationship audiences have developed with the characters over the past 54 years. “Elmo is the lovable furry monster that audiences have a deep connection with and is a good friend who asks 'how are you?'” Bisman said.
