Sesame Street Takes a Stance Against the Oculus Rift

In a child-inspiring and charming new music video, Sesame Street teams up with Zachary Levi to encourage kids to spend more of their time outside. 

Levi, who played a technology repairman on the NBC show “Chuck,” takes a break from his technology and encourages you to do the same with the help of Sesame Street icons.

The video pokes fun at social media giant, Twitter, by featuring the iconic birds flying through the park “tweeting,” at Levi and friends.

It also takes a not-so-subtle stab at the Oculus Rift at 1:31 when Levi removes the headset from a Sesame Street character revealing the impressive “graphics,” of real life.  

The lyrics continue to poke fun at Instagram, tablets, and other every day applications and platforms:

Every day I sit right there
Sit and stare and check my Facebook, Email, Instagram
Chatting with my friends and making plans.
But on days with lots of sun
I say goodbye to everyone online
And say hello, cuz I know there’s a place where all the

Bees are always buzzing ’bout the flowers they have seen.
And every tree is trending,
I don’t miss my little screen, because
The sky won’t need a filter
And the birds tweet just to say:
You should really take a walk on this lovely 
sunny day.

In the park I reconnect
Take some time to self-reflect
Yo, this Snapchat is going to be cray!
No hashtag selfie, put that thing away.
The pigeons make it feel like home
Follow me and we can can roam 
Across the grass and see
That now we’re running faster than 4G!

On the playground there’s a million games to play.
We don’t need a fancy tablet with a 
retina display.

Because…

The Bees are always buzzing ’bout the flowers they have seen.
And every tree is trending,
I don’t miss my little screen, because
The sky won’t need a filter
And the birds tweet just to say:
You should really take a walk on this lovely 
sunny day.

Just look up and there will be
Bright blue skies, don’t need a
Weather app to tell you that.
Subscription to this cloud is free.

Bees are always buzzing ’bout the flowers they have seen.
And every tree is trending,
I don’t miss my little screen, because
The sky won’t need a filter
And the birds tweet just to say:

You should really take a walk on this lovely
sunny day.

Considering the music video was produced in partnership with the National Park Foundation, it makes sense that the video cracks against “selfies,” “clouds,” and other popular culture references and urges us to go outside instead. 

It can be argued that technology actually is bringing us closer together, by creating an easier and more accessible way to communicate. It has the ability to connect us instantly with friends and family from all around the world, and can even make teaching more efficient.

Do you think technology is paving an easier way of life? Or should we be careful to use it in moderation?