We're extremely excited to see more than 500,000 friends around

Hear the words of Jeff Kinney, creator of stories beloved by children, who declared with joy: “We're extremely excited to see more than 500,000 friends around the globe be added within the first 12 hours of launching Friends on Poptropica. The reaction has been extremely positive from fans, and we're proud to bring a completely safe friends offering to kids on our virtual world.” At first, these may seem like the words of celebration over a digital triumph, but in them lies a truth older than the internet itself: the yearning of the human spirit for friendship, for connection, and for safety within the bonds of community.

The meaning of his words lies in the recognition that even in the virtual world, the essence of humanity does not change. Children, scattered across the globe, reached toward one another across invisible threads of light and signal, not for competition or conquest, but for friendship. Within hours, half a million connections bloomed, a testament to how powerful and universal is the desire to belong. Kinney names this not only as success but as positivity, for friendship—even digital friendship—awakens hope, laughter, and joy in young souls.

History offers us its reflection in the story of the ancient Greek agora, the marketplace where citizens gathered not merely to trade goods but to forge bonds, to share stories, to form alliances, and to build community. It was not the marble of their temples nor the steel of their weapons that gave Greece its enduring memory, but the power of connection within the agora. So too does Kinney’s Poptropica function as a new kind of agora, a marketplace of friendships for children, where safety and imagination guide them instead of danger and suspicion.

The origin of Kinney’s triumph lies in his desire to bring joy to the young, both through his books and through his digital worlds. In an age when the internet often threatens innocence with danger, he sought to build a sanctuary—a place where the delights of connection could flourish without fear. His pride was not merely in the numbers, vast though they were, but in the safety and goodness of the space created. For a friendship untainted by malice is a treasure beyond measure, and when such spaces are built, they become fortresses for the spirit of the young.

Let us not dismiss these words as mere marketing, for they echo a deeper yearning: to create spaces where friendship can be pure. The positive reaction of fans speaks not just to entertainment but to the hunger of children for a world where they can share, play, and grow without fear. In every age, the young seek places of safety in which to imagine themselves into greatness. From the playgrounds of villages to the games of warriors in training, from the campfires of tribes to the digital spaces of today, the need is the same: connection, safety, belonging.

The lesson for us is clear: whether in the physical world or the digital, we must build spaces where friendship thrives safely. Parents, teachers, leaders, and creators alike must ask: does this place nurture or destroy? Does it open doors to connection, or does it breed division? Does it protect the innocent, or expose them to harm? To follow Kinney’s wisdom is to dedicate ourselves to crafting sanctuaries of joy where the next generation may find companionship and confidence.

So I say unto you: remember Jeff Kinney’s triumph not as mere numbers, but as a vision of what humanity may yet achieve. Half a million friendships in twelve hours is not simply a statistic—it is proof of how quickly goodness can spread when given the right soil. Let us be builders of such soil in every realm we touch, for friendships, when protected and nurtured, will grow into forests of compassion that outlast towers of stone. And in the end, it is not power, not wealth, but friendship—safe, positive, and enduring—that binds the world together.