ON MONDAY, ELMO from Sesame Street had a simple question for his almost 500,000 followers on X.

“Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?”

Thousands of people replied to let Elmo know the unfortunate reality – they’re not doing too good.

Elmo’s post on X has been viewed over 177 million times, received close to 120,000 likes, and generated more than 12,000 replies.

Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?

— Elmo (@elmo) January 29, 2024

One of the most liked replies reads: “Wife left me, daughters don’t respect me, my job is a joke. Any more questions, Elmo? Jesus man”.

“Elmo, I’m suffering from existential dread over here,” read another.

“I’m at my lowest. Thanks for asking.”

The response took Elmo aback, who yesterday posted on X about the outpouring of dread and angst his question generated.

“Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon, friends! Elmo loves you.”

It’s a response that struck a chord at the highest levels, with US president Joe Biden commenting on X that his “friend Elmo is right”.

“I know how hard it is some days to sweep the clouds away and get to sunnier days,” Biden’s account posted on X.

“We have to be there for each other, offer our help to a neighbour in need, and above all else, ask for help when we need it. Even though it’s hard, you’re never alone.”

I know how hard it is some days to sweep the clouds away and get to sunnier days.

Our friend Elmo is right: We have to be there for each other, offer our help to a neighbor in need, and above all else, ask for help when we need it.

Even though it's hard, you're never alone. https://t.co/ffMJekbowo

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 31, 2024

Following the reaction to Elmo’s initial post asking how everybody is doing, Sesame Street’s X account posted a link to mental health resources.

“We started this year by trauma dumping so hard on Elmo the official Sesame Street account had to tweet out mental health resources,” said one X user, before adding, “god help us”.

Thank you, @Elmo, for checking in with a reminder for us to pause and take a mindful moment to focus on how we’re feeling. For #EmotionalWellbeing resources and more, visit @SesameWorkshop:https://t.co/sNuUmq73i5 https://t.co/CkooNXI11L

— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) January 29, 2024

Samantha Maltin is the chief marketing and brand officer of Sesame Workshop, the group behind Sesame Street.

She told the New York Times that no one “anticipated how deeply this particular question would resonate“.

She added that the impact Elmo’s post underscores the urgent need for easy-to-access and free mental health supports in the United States. 

Polling from Gallop showed that close to a quarter of adults in the US (23%) visited a psychologist, therapist, psychiatrist or some other mental health professional in 2022.