[imagesource:flickr]

Elmo the muppet monster has turned into a therapist…against his will.

The poor furry red Sesame Stree character made an apparently innocuous post on X (formerly Twitter) and basically knocked down the gates to hell.

As soon as he asked the general question “How is everybody doing?”, every Tom, Dick and his dog tweeted back with all their life’s woes and wishes, basically trauma dumping on the cartoon.

The Guardian noted that on Wednesday, Elmo’s question had received 12,000 replies and had been read 172 million times. Now, it’s up to 18,000 replies. Yikes:

Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?

— Elmo (@elmo) January 29, 2024

The problems feel uncountable:

“Elmo I just got laid off,” said one. “Elmo im depressed and broke,” said another. There was anxiety about the presidential election, departed spouses and disrespectful offspring. The journalist Kassy Dillon’s dog had just rolled in goose poo: “Thanks for asking Elmo.”

It gets more hectic:

The world is burning around us, Elmo. pic.twitter.com/c3swrzHWYY

— Steven (@StevenMcinerney) January 29, 2024

Elmo each day the abyss we stare into grows a unique horror. one that was previously unfathomable in nature. our inevitable doom which once accelerated in years, or months, now accelerates in hours, even minutes.

however I did have a good grapefruit earlier, thank you for asking https://t.co/svATFv7ek8

— Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad) January 29, 2024

“Elmo opened a tap and the darkness poured out – darkness, anxiety, emotional fatigue, isolation…” notes the publication, suggesting this question is really an eye-opening reflection on the world right now.

Even CNN covered this developing situation:

The lesson, per Elmo, “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing.”

[source:cnn&guardian]