I’m very against Roblox. I know a kid who had a really hard time with online predators and a lot of it stated with Roblox. He’s 19 now. He and I were talking about it recently.
Parents think Roblox is like Minecraft bc of the aesthetics of the game. But, Roblox is not a game with a chat feature, it’s a chat room with some games. That’s a big difference.
They have 380 million users. Around 60% of the user base is under the age of 16. 40% is under the age of 12. That’s 152 million mostly unmonitored kids.
I’m sure Roblox has gotten better moderation during that time, but in our experience predators meet kids on Roblox and get them to exchange Discord or other contact info with them.
Discord is also a problem here, but that’s for another rant in another thread. If you are concerned about your kids and want to discuss it with me, feel free to message me.
TLDR: DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS PLAY ROBLOX unless you are actively monitoring the game.
A friend’s 8 year old daughter was asking to play Roblox recently and they reached out to me since it’s in my current area of study and advised them against it due to the lack of responsibility that the corporation takes for their users.
I suggested that they introduce her to Vintage Story on a self hosted server instead. That way, they can control who has access and content.
I’m actually surprised at how many parents let their kids play Roblox unmonitored. I mean, why not let them go to the playground unmonitored instead?
I encourage parents to talk to their kids about online safety but specifically come up with a plan. I’ve written this in a few comments, but u really believe it helps.
Ask them what they do if a stranger says something that makes them scared or uncomfortable. Ask them what they would do if it’s someone they know like a friend or a family member. Help them come up with a plan and identify a person who is a safe person to tell. Someone parents and kids trust, often it’s an aunt or uncle.
A parent is fine too, but at a certain age, I find kids seem to be afraid of getting in trouble or maybe just uncomfortable talking to their parents about sex, so having a 3rd party that the kids and parents trust is a good back up option.
I’m very against Roblox. I know a kid who had a really hard time with online predators and a lot of it stated with Roblox. He’s 19 now. He and I were talking about it recently.
Parents think Roblox is like Minecraft bc of the aesthetics of the game. But, Roblox is not a game with a chat feature, it’s a chat room with some games. That’s a big difference.
They have 380 million users. Around 60% of the user base is under the age of 16. 40% is under the age of 12. That’s 152 million mostly unmonitored kids.
I’m sure Roblox has gotten better moderation during that time, but in our experience predators meet kids on Roblox and get them to exchange Discord or other contact info with them.
Discord is also a problem here, but that’s for another rant in another thread. If you are concerned about your kids and want to discuss it with me, feel free to message me.
TLDR: DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS PLAY ROBLOX unless you are actively monitoring the game.
Quite the opposite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roblox–Schlep_controversy
And here too! https://consumerrights.wiki/w/Roblox
A friend’s 8 year old daughter was asking to play Roblox recently and they reached out to me since it’s in my current area of study and advised them against it due to the lack of responsibility that the corporation takes for their users.
I suggested that they introduce her to Vintage Story on a self hosted server instead. That way, they can control who has access and content.
I’m actually surprised at how many parents let their kids play Roblox unmonitored. I mean, why not let them go to the playground unmonitored instead?
That would actually be the safer option imo.
And far better for their physical and mental health.
Bro threw them straight into the deep end lmao
I encourage parents to talk to their kids about online safety but specifically come up with a plan. I’ve written this in a few comments, but u really believe it helps.
Ask them what they do if a stranger says something that makes them scared or uncomfortable. Ask them what they would do if it’s someone they know like a friend or a family member. Help them come up with a plan and identify a person who is a safe person to tell. Someone parents and kids trust, often it’s an aunt or uncle.
A parent is fine too, but at a certain age, I find kids seem to be afraid of getting in trouble or maybe just uncomfortable talking to their parents about sex, so having a 3rd party that the kids and parents trust is a good back up option.
It’s highly likely there is no playground.