LOS ANGELES — Remember when Elmo went viral in January when he asked people on the Internet how they were doing and briefly became X's unofficial therapist?
“The world is burning, Elmo,” an X-user who Not the bee said the otherwise cheerful character from “Sesame Street”. “No amount of tickling can change that.”
“This world is full of pain, anger, violence, disease, power-hungry despots and poverty,” said a user named Live life as if someone had left the gate open added in an extended post. “The gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening, as HG Wells put it.”
And those were just two of over 20,000 responses.
Christina Vittas, Elmo’s social media manager, was overwhelmed by the unexpected wave of enthusiasm and told the Times She was grateful that the Muppet's easy query “sparked conversations about the serious mental health crisis in our country.”
Six months later, Elmo’s creator at Sesame Workshop have worked along with the Harris Poll to take a more in-depth take a look at the state of Americans' mental health. In May, they conducted 2,012 online interviews on a variety of topics with a nationally representative sample of Americans ages 16 and older.
The resulting State of Wellbeing Report was published this week. The results:
• 27% of respondents said their mental or emotional health or that of a member of the family negatively impacted their well-being. This was essentially on par with the 28% who were negatively impacted by a physical health issue. The only issue that weighed more heavily on survey respondents was economic security and private funds, a priority cited by 41%.
• Mental and emotional health was a specific Burden for young people: 54% of 16- and 17-year-olds who responded to the survey said that mental health issues had a negative impact on their overall wellbeing, as did 32% of fogeys and 41% of people that identified as LGBTQ+.
• When asked about their biggest concerns for his or her future well-being, 90% said their mental and emotional health and that of their family was either somewhat or very vital. By comparison, 89% said the identical about physical health, economic security and private funds, and “having a safe place to call home.”
• Seventy-seven percent of respondents told pollsters that to enhance the well-being of future generations, the United States should prioritize investments in emotional and mental health. That was just barely lower than the 80 percent who called for more investment in economic security and barely greater than the 76 percent who said the country should prioritize quality education and learning opportunities.
• 44% of all respondents said their families are “still suffering from the negative impacts of the COVID19 pandemic.” This includes 57% of Black Americans and 56% of Latino Americans who responded to the survey. This also includes 63% of respondents who’re a part of Generation Z (ages 18-27) and 57% of Millennials (ages 28-43).
• When given a listing of adjectives to explain the typical American adult, only 37% selected “kind,” 35% selected “compassionate,” and 33% selected “empathetic.” However, 56% said this hypothetical adult was “anxious” and 44% said he was “difficult.”
• The survey found overwhelming support for the concept kindness is crucial to the well-being of society. A full 91% of respondents agreed that “kindness fosters stronger bonds between people” and due to this fact makes them more empathetic and helpful.
• 82% of respondents said their very own mental wellbeing would improve if kindness was more widespread and 89% said a kinder society can be higher for youngsters.
• 93% of respondents said they’ve performed an excellent deed no less than once previously three months. Specifically, 57% said they helped a friend or member of the family in need, 57% said they listened to someone without judgment, 39% donated money to charity, 35% helped a stranger and 22% volunteered their time to a cause, amongst other activities.
• Despite this high level of kindness, most individuals said they don’t see much of it in others. 55% of respondents agreed that “kindness is not a priority for most people.” In addition, 64% agreed that “most people do not make a special effort to help others.”
• 73% of Americans said they want that they had learned more about managing their emotions as children. 84% of today's parents feel the identical.
• 67% of Americans also wish their parents had been more open about their very own mental health issues. This is very true amongst younger Americans: 77% of teenagers, 77% of Generation Z, and 78% of Millennials share this opinion.
Sesame Workshop described the report because the “first index of its kind” and said they’d proceed to ask Americans “to take the pulse of the situation of Americans and their families.”
Originally published:
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