SINGAPORE: On screen, Ms Stephanie Tan navigates a long-haired wanderer through the sprawling world of Where Winds Meet, an action-adventure role-playing game. 

While completing quests and battling bosses, her character also stops to chat with other players. 

But Ms Tan is not simply there to play. 

The social worker is trying to reach so-called “hidden adults” – people who have withdrawn from society for prolonged periods and may rarely leave their homes or even their rooms. 

She builds rapport with them in online games – spaces where some feel most at ease. 

Social service agencies say they are seeing more cases involving hidden adults in Singapore. 

Fei Yue Community Services has helped about 40 cases to date, twice the roughly 20 cases it had encountered when it began working on the issue in 2024. 

TOUCH Community Services received about 250 enquiries last year involving socially withdrawn individuals, more than double the number in 2022. 

Reaching them, however, can be difficult. Many avoid face-to-face interaction and are more comfortable communicating online. 

That has prompted organisations such as Youth Guidance Outreach Services (YGOS), where Ms Tan works, to venture into online games and platforms such as Twitch and Discord to find and engage them.

When Ms Tan and her team spot someone who may be socially withdrawn, they approach the person through direct messages and gradually build trust. 

Sometimes, that eventually progresses to a voice chat or a meal outside. But the process can take a long time. 

“At the end of the day, if they have anything they want to talk to us about, whether it's friendship problems or family problem...