Elmo asked people online if they were OK, and the responses were unexpectedly dark

The internet is a space where people share their unfiltered thoughts and emotions which is probably why when Elmo tweeted a mental health check-in with people online the dog-pile responses were brutally honest and a glimpse into people's existential dread.

On Monday, the X account for the iconic red "Sesame Street" puppet tweeted: "Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?"

The tweet, which was viewed 181 million times, garnered thousands of swift and troubling replies with the same shared sentiment: Nobody is OK Elmo. Elmo's open-ended question was met with endless dread from people as the first month of the new year comes to a close. People shared they had been laid off, depressed, anxious for the 2024 election or were just having a tough Monday, serving as an insight into the collective mental health of Americans.

One person said, “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.”

Another wrote, "I did not have us all trauma dumping on Elmo on my bingo card."

The vice president of Sesame Workshop, Samantha Maltin, told the New York Times, “I don’t think anyone anticipated how deeply this particular question would resonate. But we’re so thrilled that we did ask.”

After the flood of replies to the tweet, the Elmo account posted, "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."