You're probably familiar with Elmo, the Sesame Street character beloved by children and toy store owners everywhere. The little red guy is so popular that he has his own account on X, formerly known as Twitter (henceforth called XFKAT). Yesterday, the monster of color posted this comment:
As you can see, over 12,000 people replied, most of them sharing stories of being broke, depressed, out of work, and the like. I don't know if it's sad, hilarious, or pathetic that in America today, people feel they have no one to turn to other than a three-year-old fictional sock puppet.
It's no joke that half the U.S. population feels lonely, with anxiety and depression rapidly pulling up the rear. But damn, lonely, angsty, and depressed enough to reply to a literal nobody?
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| If only those 12,000 people knew that Elmo really cares more about hanging with Elvis Costello than hearing their stories. |
Yet there's something even more concerning. Elmo -- may I emphasize, a non-existent three-year-old who speaks like a two-year-old -- shares a platform with racists, conspiracists, neo-Nazis, Taylor Swift deepfake porn, and Rob Schneider. This is what Sesame Street considers a good idea?
Some of you might be feeling down these days, maybe to the point of feeling in need of professional help. That's understandable. What's not understandable is relying on something that exists almost strictly as a consumer-driven product.
And if you don't believe that's what Elmo is, a certain Samantha Maltin admits being "thrilled" by those 12,000 responses. In addition to being Sesame Workshop's executive vice-president, Maltin is also its chief marketing and brand officer.
I repeat, Samantha Maltin is "thrilled" that 12,000 people are so depressed they need to turn to a sock puppet for comfort, the same way they did their teddy bear decades ago. I call that dispiriting. She considers it a new customer base.
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