How far would you go to find a buddy to play games with online? For one person, they’ve gone down the old fashioned route, posting notices on power poles around Melbourne.
Spotted on a busy inner-city road and sent my way, I needed to know more. I messaged the number, only to find a young boy on the other end…
What started as a curious story about finding friends, became a cautionary tale about child online safety.
When I first saw the poster, it made me chuckle.
A homemade poster, slipped inside a plastic binder sheet, displaying a simple message:
“Looking for people to play Fortnite with… TEXT ME”, along with a mobile phone number.
There’s also a postscript poking fun at the designer’s handy work, “this poster is SOOO profesinal”.
Surely it’s a joke — or perhaps a marketing scheme?
My curiosity got the better of me, so I fired off a text message.
I received a response within moments.
This response threw me for a moment. Are they really serious? Is this part of the prank?
While I wasn’t serious about playing a game with them, I was curious to know more about who they were and why they’d publically called for a Fortnite buddy.
They agreed to be interviewed.
Do I call them? I thought best not — I didn’t know who this person was.
I fired off a series of questions, almost not expecting a response… Or at least, not a serious one.
“I’m Adam I’m 11.”
When Adam (not his real name) revealed his age, I couldn’t help but pause. What’s an 11-year-old doing putting up posters with his phone number? As a parent, I felt a rush of concern about the risks of such public outreach.
“I put the posters up because I wanted people to play Fortnite with,” Adam told me.
“I was a bit worried about people pranking me like you but I have trust.”
“I like Roblox and I. Play on PC and switch,” he said.
At this point, I’m convinced that this really is an 11-year-old kid simply searching for a buddy to play with online.
But as a dad myself, I couldn’t shake the worry about who else might be texting him — not everyone out there has good intentions.
Do his parents know? Who else has contacted him? Is he safe?
Adam tells me his parents know he put the posters up.
“They were a bit worried at first but I think they are fine now.”
I wondered if they fully grasped the potential risks of such a public search for friends. As much as those concerns weighed on my mind, there was still one thing I had to know.
Had young Adam found someone to play with?
“I have found someone to play with.”
“I have called some of them and they sound like kids and the people I have not called have not responded for a while.”
Adam also says he has friends he plays with at school.
I understood the hypocrisy in telling a child not to engage with unknown people while I was, in essence, doing just that.
The very caution I wanted to instill in my own children echoed in my mind. Yet, here was Adam, boldly reaching out for a friend in a digital age where connections often begin with a simple message. It made me question not only his bravery but also the lessons I impart to my own kids.
Adam says if anyone sees one of his posters, please take them down; he’s forgotten where he put them.
And with that, I bid him farewell.
While it’s important to encourage connections, I also recognise the need to teach kids about the potential risks they may encounter by sharing information publicly and online.
Resources like the eSafety Commissioner website offer valuable tools to help youngsters navigate this landscape, allowing them to educate themselves about staying safe while exploring new friendships.
As parents, we must equip our children with the knowledge they need to engage responsibly while still allowing them the freedom to build friendships that could blossom into something meaningful.
