“Reality Revealed” is the title of a study presented in mid-April that maps the problems and dangers to the safety of users of the popular platform Roblox. “At first glance, Roblox is a fun, child-friendly visual landscape.” However, a deeper analysis of the platform’s capabilities revealed very disturbing details. Despite existing security features, adults and children can easily interact in the same virtual spaces without effective age verification, and the study cites an example where an account registered as a 42-year-old can access and communicate publicly with accounts registered as children as young as five or chat privately with accounts registered as 13 and older. In addition, accounts registered as a 10-year-old were able to freely access characters dressed in sexually suggestive clothing and observe and participate in conversations that were often deep in the realm of adult topics. Roblox is a popular online gaming platform with over 85 million daily active users, of which about 40 percent are under the age of 13.
Roblox’s user-generated content model allows for millions of games (called experiences), some of which contain inappropriate material such as violence, horror, or sexually suggestive themes. Various sources report that some “experiences” contain explicit interactions that resemble interactive pornography. Other games, such as those that mimic horror or violent themes, may be too intense for younger players. A 2024 study by Cybersafe Kids found that 23 percent of incidents involving children ages 8 to 12 occurred on Roblox, often due to exposure to disturbing content. The platform’s problem is that its child-friendly appearance can mislead parents, creating a disconnect between its marketing image and the actual experiences children encounter. As the “Reality Unraveling” study notes, the platform’s communication options allow for interaction between users of all ages, creating opportunities for predators. Bloomberg has written about more than two dozen arrests over the past six years for crimes like kidnapping or abuse linked to predators who meet with children on Roblox.
One common tactic of predators is to create an avatar as a child to gain trust, then move the conversation to less moderated platforms like Discord or Snapchat.
According to the aforementioned study, 38 percent of children ages 8-12 have played with strangers, and 65 percent have been contacted by unknown users, increasing the risk of harmful interactions. An NPR report cites a game developer who kidnapped a 2,4-year-old girl via Uber after meeting her on Roblox. While the platform defends itself by saying its security measures are robust, critics say moderation is inadequate for the 8 billion daily messages exchanged on it. Additionally, Roblox’s chat features can expose children to online harassment, including abusive language or intimidation, as well as criticism and actions aimed at shaming players, which can be emotionally damaging. The lack of real-time monitoring of communication allows harmful behavior to continue, and more than half of children ages 12-XNUMX do not report disturbing incidents to their parents. Finally, a study from last year suggested that platforms like Roblox were being used by extremists to engage with teenagers, drawing them in to radical right-wing content. While most of the public’s attention has been focused on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, issues of moderation and oversight have long been a serious challenge on gaming platforms aimed at the youngest users.
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