Roblox has evolved into a social network for kids. However, this comes with dangers. MeinMMO author Andreas Bertits shares his own experiences with the platform and also spoke with the developers and a cyber criminologist.
Even though not much is reported about it, Roblox is one of the the most successful games overall. Over 150 million active users contributed to the platform being valued at around 30 billion USD (via Finanzen.net).
Roblox particularly appeals to children and teenagers and provides a great way to stay in touch with friends and have fun during the Corona pandemic, when this isn’t possible in person due to contact restrictions, school closures, and lockdowns.
As reported by the market research company Nielsen via SuperData, Roblox was made the third most successful online game in terms of revenues due to the Corona crisis in 2020. It even overshadowed Fortnite. According to SuperData, this is because Roblox is used as a social network, especially among younger players.
Roblox is more than just a game
What is Roblox anyway? Roblox started on February 27, 2008, as a kind of game-building kit. Visually, it resembles a mix of Lego and Minecraft and specifically targets younger gamers. They can create their own games using the building kit, where almost anything is possible.
From shooters to racing games, puzzle games, adventures, RPGs to MMOs, where many players can meet and interact with each other. The games are made available to the users, who can use them for free. Popular titles include:
- Natural Disaster Survival – A survival game
- Scuba Diving at Quill Lake – A game where the goal is to find treasures while diving
- Theme Park Tycoon 2 – A building game
- Work at a Pizza Place – Players have to manage a pizzeria
- Murder Mystery 2 – A co-op horror game
- Jailbreak – A game in the style of “cops and robbers”
If you want to visually customize your character or buy special pets in some games, you need Robux. The virtual currency can be purchased for real money. There are countless games on the platform, and new ones are added regularly.
We looked closely at Roblox and were able to have conversations with the developers and a cyber criminologist about the dangers that younger players can expect in their first social network and what users and parents should pay attention to.
A social network for kids
In an interview, we spoke with Laura Higgins, Director of Community Safety and Digital Civility at Roblox Corporation about this topic:
Andreas Bertits: According to SuperData, Roblox was the “third most successful digital game of 2020 in terms of revenues and surpassed Fortnite thanks to strong mobile growth.” This implies that the “platform became the social network of choice for young gamers.” How do you provide an online environment that is particularly suitable for young players?
Laura Higgins: We have seen how Roblox has helped connect people from all over the world during this pandemic, and our community has supported each other in many ways (via Roblox Blog).
When we surveyed almost 3,000 teenagers in our community from around the world about the impacts of COVID-19 on their online lives and their relationships with parents and friends (via Roblox Blog), they shared how they use our platform to stay in touch with their friends and find new ones. The majority (62%) stated that conversations with their real friends were among the most important activities when they met on Roblox. Almost 30% stated they had also started learning programming and building their own games.
We have a strict safety system – one of the strictest on any platform (via Roblox Blog) – and continuously develop our system to create a safe and decent community where millions of people from around the world can learn, play, and be creative together. For example, we filter all text on the platform, and a “human” team of over 1,700 people works around the clock to protect our users and monitor safety in multiple languages using a combination of machine scanning and manual moderation.
Additionally, we have partnerships with over 20 leading global organizations focused on child safety and internet safety, such as USK in Germany, WePROTECT Global Alliance, Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), Fair Play Alliance, and kidSAFE. As a member of the USK, we work closely with the organization and follow their recommendations to ensure we comply with local regulations and create a safe experience for our German users.
Andreas Bertits: Harassment, insults, and generally a “rough manner” are unfortunately quite common on the internet. How do you protect younger players from toxic players?
Laura Higgins: We are tirelessly working to create a safe, decent, and diverse community (via Roblox Blog) and have zero tolerance for content or behavior that violates our rules. For instance, we have extremely strict chat filters that block inappropriate words or phrases like swears or discriminatory language, and we update them daily.
We also actively encourage our users to report any activities that make them uncomfortable or that they are concerned about: Players can easily mute or block players they encounter, and report inappropriate content/behavior through our “Report Abuse” system, which is clearly visible throughout the website and within the game.
Finally, online safety and civility also involve education. Our Digital Civility Initiative (via Roblox Blog), which is a major part of my job, aims to equip children and their parents with the skills and resources to navigate an ever-evolving digital landscape.
We invest significantly in building a community that inspires positive play, but also in providing resources to parents (via Roblox Blog), educators, and the entire industry to promote safety and civility on the Roblox platform and beyond.
A major danger in Roblox is cyber grooming: this refers to when individuals online deliberately target people to establish sexual contacts. This usually happens through chats or videos.
It is a particular form of sexual harassment that can lead to sexual abuse. Cyber grooming is not solely limited to minors, though they are the main focus.
In cyber grooming, the perpetrator initially builds trust with their victim by flattering and getting close (in English, “grooming”), but ultimately aims for abuse. Often, victims are blackmailed, causing them to keep their experiences to themselves. (via Wikipedia)
Andreas Bertits: It is possible that sexual offenders are looking for younger players on social platforms and exploiting their inexperience with the internet in general. Is there a way to protect children or a form of support for parents who want to protect their children on your platform?
Laura Higgins: Roblox was designed from the beginning for children and teenagers, and we have the responsibility to ensure that our players can learn, create, and play safely. That remains our highest priority and will never change. By default, we have extremely strict chat filters in place to protect our community, blocking inappropriate content, including questions for personal information, and we use automation to flag content for further review by our moderators.
We monitor chat behavior that clearly indicates an attempt to lure a player from our platform to other, less restrictive third-party chat apps (via Roblox Blog). For users under 13, our filters are even stricter, such as blocking any use of numbers and potentially personally identifiable information. We do not allow sending images or videos through chats or one-to-one interactions between users.
From a technological standpoint, we pursue a layered approach, which includes proprietary cutting-edge technology, third-party machine learning solutions, and specific rules for the types of content to be blocked, which we continuously review and improve. Recently, we have also collaborated with Microsoft on a grooming detection technique [Codename “Project Artemis”] that can identify, address, and report individuals trying to lure children for sexual purposes.
This technique adds an additional layer to our existing safety measures, and others in our industry will be able to use and benefit from this technology. Ultimately, we work closely and transparently with regulators and safety groups in every country we operate in, promptly reporting any suspicion of child exploitation, abusive materials, or online grooming to the relevant authorities and working diligently with other digital platforms to share this information so they can take appropriate action on their platforms.
Education is important!
That companies like Roblox Corporation proceed so prudently is, of course, very important for parents and a relief. My children can confirm that the chat filters really work well. Nevertheless, it is absolutely necessary to sensitize children accordingly and educate them about what can happen on the internet.
Leya Jankowski from the editorial team of MeinMMO spoke with cyber criminologist Dr. iur. Thomas-Gabriel Rüdiger, M.A. (who also addresses the topic on his Instagram account). He currently provides parents with some very important tips:
Leya Jankowski: What can you pass on to your children about what they need to pay attention to?
Dr. iur. Thomas-Gabriel Rüdiger: Children should be taught by their parents that just because they are playing online with someone, does not mean they know who that person is or what intentions they have. The underlying issue is that some sexual offenders (cyber groomers) deliberately build trust with children through the shared gaming experience.
As perpetrators generally cannot send videos or pictures in the games themselves, they try to redirect conversations with children to messengers or other platforms. Therefore, children need to be told not to give anyone in the game (or otherwise), whom they do not personally (physically) know, their mobile number, home address, etc. Parents should also discuss that some offenders may offer children game advantages (e.g., currency) – depending on the game – or threaten them with the loss of advantages (e.g., in clans or guilds) to extort sexual acts from the children.
An important issue appears to be the choice of names for children, meaning giving no hints about their age and potentially their gender. At the same time, children should not use the same username everywhere, as this makes them traceable.
Topics like fraud, insults, and digital hate crimes are ultimately a theme in every game with a possibility of online communication.
Leya Jankowski: When should I as a parent be alert?
Dr. iur. Thomas-Gabriel Rüdiger: That’s hard to say, as many manifestations outward can also be part of uncomplicated gaming. It is important to convey to the child not to disclose personal data, regardless of how well they play together in the group or with fellow players.
As soon as I hear that fellow players want their phone numbers or suggest talking via a messenger, I would – depending on my child’s age – be sensitized and talk with my child again about the risks.
It is hopefully self-explanatory that children should not receive smartphones too early and unprepared, but should also use online games. Parents should not rely solely on age ratings, as they are often very low, allowing access to children from 0 or 6 years old. It’s better to try the games oneself or watch Let’s Play videos to get an impression of the game and any risks (communication, in-game purchases, usernames, etc.).
Roblox is meant for kids, but parents should be cautious
Experiences with Roblox: I have three children who all love playing Roblox and want to share my experiences with the game:
My three girls (16, 12, and 10) love Roblox. There’s something for everyone on the platform, and they often play together. They meet online with friends they can’t see right now, chat with them, and play together. Some new online friendships have even been formed.
With their pocket money, they occasionally buy Robux or receive some extra when they do special chores around the house or for example, collect apples in the garden. My wife and I make sure this always remains within a reasonable framework. We understand that Roblox is fun for them, and if they want to spend part of their money on it, then that is fine.
My wife and I had to deal with Roblox ourselves first. It’s important to us that our children enjoy what they do, while being able to play safely and carefree. We are not helicopter parents who constantly monitor our children. But of course, we pay attention to what games they are playing, how long, and with whom.
This applies to both online games and their free time outdoors. During the Corona pandemic, meeting friends has become difficult, and we sometimes turn a blind eye when they spend a little longer on the PC – as long as it stays within a reasonable framework.
As a games journalist and gamer, who is also married to a gaming enthusiast, we are probably much deeper into the subject than other parents. We do not want to prohibit our children from playing.
It has simply become part of society, and both my wife and I played video games in our childhood and youth – so why shouldn’t we allow that for our kids?
The internet is full of dangers for children
However, the internet is a place where you must be cautious. Under the cloak of anonymity, bullying occurs online, harsh insults are exchanged, and even death threats are not uncommon. Even if some gamers may think that a rough demeanor ” goes along with it,” I do not agree.
There should be no place, neither real nor virtual, where it is okay to threaten someone with death or bully people. A polite and civilized manner must always be possible and pursued. In my opinion, everyone should always ask themselves whether they would write what they are writing to their parents. I convey this to my children as well, so that they behave decently. However, unfortunately, you can always expect such individuals.
Moreover, chat rooms or online games can be misused for predators to approach children. Especially when kids are inexperienced and might be trying their first social platform, it’s immensely important that they are protected. Here, parents must simply pay attention and talk with their children about what they need to be aware of. Similarly, operators of online games and platforms are also obliged to protect users.
Especially during the Corona pandemic, it has become an even bigger challenge for parents to protect their children from the pitfalls of the internet. I see this in myself. My wife is a trained nurse and is therefore extremely in demand in today’s times. Accordingly, she works a lot to contribute her part to combating the pandemic.
I, myself, work as a journalist in an area that, fortunately (so far), has not been affected by the crisis. People are currently playing a lot; they need distractions at home during lockdowns and contact restrictions, and video games are just right for that.
My wife and I are trying to balance job, homeschooling with three children, and household chores. Keeping an eye on what the kids are up to and playing is simply impossible. And we don’t want that either. We want to give our children trust and educate them to be independent and responsible. But for that, we must make them aware of the dangers lurking on the internet.
My children can come to either my wife or me at any time if they want to try out a new game or if they’ve had uncomfortable experiences in a game. And yes, that has happened before.
Roblox takes its responsibility seriously
All three of my children told me that they have been insulted and bullied in Roblox – and in other games – from time to time. However, Roblox uses filters to obscure bad swear words. According to my kids, that actually works quite well. It’s noticeable when another player insults someone; you just can’t see what exactly they are writing.
However, I found a description from my youngest daughter, 10 years old, particularly unsettling. She reported that in the chat, “Boys” or “Girls” are occasionally sought out to meet at certain spots in some Roblox games and have private conversations.
My children know how to behave in such situations. My wife and I have talked with them. Nevertheless, shady individuals always find ways to circumvent safety precautions to approach children. Such matters should be reported immediately to the relevant staff!
A small conclusion at the end: In conclusion, it can be said that children – especially during the Corona crisis – use online games as a kind of substitute for not being able to meet their friends in person. Therefore, it is quite okay to let them play so they can maintain social contacts.
But caution is advised! Parents must engage with the games and the community their kids come into contact with. Here, simply some points need to be considered, including sensitizing children and making them aware of the dangers. And game developers have the responsibility to create a safe and civilized environment for their players.
MeinMMO editor Leya Jankowski spoke some time ago with cyber criminologist Thomas-Gabriel Rüdiger. You can read the interview here: Toxic and criminal behavior in online games: What can be done?
