‘Sesame Street’ Characters Have Conquered Social Media
Last month, Big Bird flew into a bit of an existential crisis: A humorously edited photo revealed that the usually sizable squawker was suddenly small. (How appropriate that Big Bird shared his dilemma on X, which, much like the yellow muppet himself, is no longer the big, beautiful bird it used to be.) Big Bird tweeted through it, and then, after seven days and seven nights, came a triumph of biblical proportions. He rose (in stature) again. Who among us could have guessed that Big Bird’s journey was just the beginning of a full-on Sesame Street social media takeover?
In the wake of Big Bird’s 15 minutes of internet fame, many of his friends—including Elmo, Grover, and the Cookie Monster—have been going viral with their own posts on X. Even more interesting is the nature of these newer viral moments. Big Bird’s X takeover came with a specific, days-long story arc, but his friends’ posts are pretty basic expressions of love and support. It’s proof positive that while we all might age out of Sesame Street eventually, none of us ever leave it fully behind us.
Everything is absolutely not A-OK in the year of our lord 2024, and that might be precisely why these Sesame Street characters keep attracting eyeballs on X. Even in the cynical dumpster fire that is X, the playful purity in these posts manages to cut through our hardened exteriors. The world is on fire, and people are exhausted and, in many cases, drowning in debt. But still, life never pauses. Given that awful, very adult truth, isn’t there a strange, surreal, bittersweet comfort in seeing Cookie Monster wish us all a happy Valentine’s Day—whether we have a partner or not?