Elmo’s Just Checking In: How Are You Doing?

The State of Well-Being Report

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Elmo’s Just Checking In: How Are You Doing?

When Elmo tweeted, “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” on social media, the consensus was clear: people are struggling.

Leveraging its five-decade history of addressing the most pressing needs of children and families, Sesame Workshop partnered with The Harris Poll to shed light on the mental health crisis, launching a first-of-its-kind index on the state of well-being in America.

This new annual poll will allow us to keep a pulse on the well-being of Americans and their families and contribute to our collective understanding of what drives well-being today.

Want to see if you can guess the results of the survey? Take our quiz here!

Read the press release here.

Preview the Report:

Executive Summary: How Americans See Well-Being

Americans rank mental health on par with economic stability in terms of importance:

When asked what we should prioritize for the future well-being of our country, Americans indicated that economic stability isn’t enough—and is not alone as a first priority—but must be accompanied by investment in mental health and education: They want to see the prioritization of economic stability (80%) matched by mental health (77%) and high-quality education opportunities (76%)

Financial, physical, and mental health barriers strain people’s well-being, and pandemic aftermath is still in effect

Majorities of Americans (79%) say their own well-being is negatively impacted by at least one factor
1 in 3 parents say their or their family’s well-being is negatively impacted by mental health issues; the number jumps to over 1 in 2 for teens
A quarter of parents cite lacking access to high-quality education / learning opportunities as a source of negative impact
61% of parents report their family is still experiencing negative effects from the COVID-19 pandemic

Americans lack optimism when it comes to our nation’s well-being

Americans aren’t optimistic about the nation’s well-being and think that leaders and institutions should prioritize well-being. Fewer than half feel a sense of optimism around the well-being of Americans (42%) or the state of early childhood education (42%)
Americans feel we’re at a crossroads and want to choose the path towards societal well-being: 81% agree, “Leaders of our institutions need to reorient their priorities around well-being”

Most Americans describe the average adult and child today as anxious

51% think that the average child is anxious
56% describe their fellow Americans as anxious

Adults are perceived as more difficult than children in today’s society

While both adults and children have anxious in their top three traits, people perceive children more positively than adults, calling children curious and smart, while adults are difficult

Americans’ perceptions of others curb their sense of well-being

While 93% report practicing kindness, only 55% say the average American is kind (38 pt gap)
While 90% report practicing resilience, only 59% feel the average American is resilient (31 pt gap)
Parents describe their children significantly more positively than Americans view the average child, differing by over 30 percentage points
70% of Americans say, “I often worry that the world is an unkind place for children”

Elmo an Abby making a heart with their hands.

Executive Summary: A Reason for Hope

Americans say getting honest about mental health and asking for help is critical

67% of all Americas say, “I wish my parents had been more honest with me about their mental health struggles”
79% of parents agree with that statement – suggesting that today’s parents are looking to break the silence around mental health with their own children

There is a stark generational divide around mental health

82% of Gen Z and Millennials agree, “I wish I had been taught more about how to understand and manage my emotions as a child,” compared to only 65% of respondents from older generations.
That number jumps even higher to 84% of parents, signaling a major generational shift around the appreciation of speaking openly and honestly about emotional well-being from a young age.
63% of Gen Z and Millennials say that “Schools should focus on social and emotional skills just as much as academics,” as opposed to focusing on only academics the majority of the time (vs. 58% of older generations)—this goes up even higher to 71% for educators

Media has a notable role to play according to parents and educators

Over 8 in 10 Americans feel media plays an important role in promoting kindness: 84% say it’s important to have more kindness-focused characters in children’s shows, going up to 93% of educators
Parents especially believe that “Media can help teach children about how to understand and manage their emotions” (82% vs. 74% Total)

Americans believe in the power of kindness and resilience—despite thinking they are the only ones doing it

90% agree, “Nurturing kindness in children has a positive ripple effect, building a brave and caring society for generations to come”

Americans feel that promoting kindness and resilience is vitally important to society

Strong majorities of Americans say it’s important for society to promote kindness (85%) and resilience (83%), with over a third (42% and 35%, respectively) saying it’s extremely important
82% agree, “My well-being would improve if society was kinder”—increasing to 89% when asked about children
72% agree, “My well-being would improve if I had the tools to be more resilient”—increasing to 88% when asked about children

People to want support families in need

85% of Americans agree, “We need more community and institutional support for children experiencing difficult family situations”
Kindness fuels happiness: 91% of Americans agree, “Doing kind things for others makes me feel happier” and 78% gave emotional support to someone in the past 3 months

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