Roblox is the wildly popular online games platform beloved of even very young children who play in its imaginary world, have fun with its thousands of games, interact online with their friends and use Robux, the platform’s currency, to buy all kinds of cute things.
But it has its dark side, and one that parents might not be so aware of.
Anyone can create an Avatar, anonymously, which potentially leaves children open to the advances of online predators; players have been scammed out of money and as a new survey from CyberSafeKids, Irish children aged 8-12 have been bothered or upset by harmful content such as scams, harassment, horror, and sexual material on Roblox.
It’s a disturbing picture. Roblox for its part has taken considerable care to keep children safe, with moderators and extensive automatic child safety systems in place but as with any online activity, there are dangers which parents who consider Roblox to be completely safe gaming environment may not be aware of.
Irish Times reporter Conor Capplis tells In the News about the gaming platform and the concerns around it.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Aideen Finnegan.
