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We have written many, many items about the harm being done by social media in general, and by Ex-Twitter in particular. We're fair-minded people, however, and so are willing to acknowledge the good, when it happens. Such is the case with a story brought to our attention by reader J.P. in Seguin, TX.
At the center of this particular story is Sesame Street, which is in the running with Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and maybe 60 Minutes for the television program that has done the most positive good for the world. Back when (Z) was a regular watcher of Sesame Street, way back in the 1970s and early 1980s, the star of the show was Big Bird, with Oscar the Grouch a pretty close second. Today, Elmo—who did not become a fixture of the show until 1985—is the star.
By virtue of his celebrity, and the show's desire to keep up with the times, Elmo has an Ex-Twitter account and over half a million followers. And on Monday of this week, he tweeted a relatively innocuous message: "Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?" His tweets are often along these lines; for example, three days earlier, on Jan. 26., he tweeted "Elmo hopes this post finds you well!"
Elmo's tweets, including the Jan. 26 tweet, tend to generate a hundred or so responses, 500 or so retweets, and a few thousand likes. However, the Jan. 29 tweet blew up, with 18,000 replies, 57,000 retweets, and 184,000 likes. An enormous percentage of the responses were from people who said they are not, in fact, doing well, but that they appreciate that someone took the time to ask. The respondents' troubles included being tired, out of work, depressed, involved in various interpersonal conflicts, and a host of other things.
There is no way that anyone expected this kind of response, and no way that every respondent can be addressed personally. But Sesame Street has a platform, and a knack for things like this. And so, Elmo got back on the platform and tweeted: "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." He also included the hashtag #EmotionalWellBeing. In turn, the other main cast members also sent out tweets with that hashtag. Among them:
If you are wondering where Big Bird is, Elmo's initial tweet was tied to a plotline from the show wherein Big Bird has been shrunk and needs help to get back to full size. Once that plotline was resolved, Big Bird tweeted:
I'm big again! What an adventure the last 7 days have been. I learned so much by seeing the world from a different perspective. @Elmo and so many other friends checked in on me. Thank you to all that checked in to #HelpBigBird. Today and everyday, let's #HelpEachOther!
The Sesame Street staff also compiled and tweeted a webpage full of mental and emotional health resources.
Now, this is already pretty good, but it actually gets better. The Sesame Street tweets spread widely, and the #EmotionalWellBeing tag was picked up on by some rather prominent folks. For example:
In addition, countless news outlets, in their reports on the story, took the opportunity to share links to local mental and emotional health resources.
Anyhow, if that is not a freudenfreude story, we don't know what is. Have a good weekend, all! (Z)