A young Australian, tired of social media, put up a poster of himself in Sydney in the hope of making “real friends”.
The poster was seen plastered on walls around Sydney, including City Hall, Chinatown and Redfern, and was designed by 18-year-old Cooper.
Cooper told Daily Mail Australia he was struck by the idea earlier this month while scrolling through his social media accounts at 1.30am.
“I was just standing and scrolling on my phone. I was like, ‘Man, this is so boring. I wish I was doing something else,'” Cooper said.
“So I decided to make this poster. I figured if I still think it’s a good idea tomorrow morning, I’ll post it.
Cooper, 18, created a poster (pictured) to ‘make real friends’ and stuck 35 copies on walls around City Hall, Chinatown and the inner-city suburb of Redfern from Sydney.
The full-time student printed 35 copies of the poster which he described as “every graphic designer’s worst nightmare”.
He titled the creative “I’m tired of online friends, let’s be friends in real life” and called on Australians aged 17 to 24 who are not “fanatics” to reach out.
“With the rise of social media, I say “f**k it!” If you want to be friends (or enemies), CALL ME TODAY!!!,” he wrote.
Cooper said he received an overwhelming response to his poster, with more than 50 different people calling or texting him.
He explained that of the 55 responses, some offered encouraging comments and a small number were trolls, but a “vast majority” were people genuinely looking to make friends.
“Now I have plans for this week until next week about going out and places to go and people to see, and that’s good,” Cooper said.
Cooper believes the best way to connect with others is through comedy. He wrote “funny little things” on the poster to make people laugh and be more likely to text him.
“I think someone who is really funny and can really make people smile is a real treasure to social circles and humanity,” Cooper said.
“So the whole idea (of the poster) was to make it so sexy and so visible that it revolves around being good again.”
Cooper (pictured left) meets a man who responded to his poster
In the poster, Cooper included a photo of himself and listed his interests as well as the qualities he brings to a friendship.
He described himself as the “guy to complain to”, an avid movie watcher, a talker and listener, someone who would text random thoughts at midnight, and a person who would invite himself over to your house to cook eggs.
He added: “I’m very charming and funny actually.”
Gen Z, who is studying psychology and counseling at the Australian College of Applied Professions, said they used the poster to highlight how young Australians are stuck socializing via social media.
“I feel like the younger generation relies too much on social media,” Cooper said.
“Nowadays, the rate of depression or loneliness is increasing. We feel so isolated by our devices because we are more connected than ever, but in a way that isolates us socially.
“People don’t expose themselves. They don’t make the effort to talk to people. I’m pretty sure the right people will look, see the poster and contact me.
Cooper (pictured) said he was motivated to create the poster because young Australians are too reliant on social media to make friends and socialize.
He urged young Australians to ditch their phones and encouraged them not to be afraid to put themselves forward.
“You only live once and you have to make sure you know it’s the prime of your life,” Cooper said.
“You don’t experience it by being on your phone. You have to go out there and experience life yourself.