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When Bailen Meyercheck learned that his Roblox avatar had suddenly changed, the 11-year-old immediately knew his account had been hacked. Roblox, an online multiplayer game used by millions of players each day, is an important part of the fifth grader’s social life, as it is for many kids his age. As soon as he realized what happened, he took steps to secure his account, which included turning on two-factor authentication. Unfortunately, he had created his account with a now-defunct email address and said he lost years of hard work. “My avatar, my Robux [in-game currency], game passes, and games I had created got deleted. I lost all of the progress I had made,” he said.
Bailen’s losses might sound minor to a grown-up who doesn’t know much about Roblox, but kids work hard to gain special items and build friendships in the virtual world. Whether they’re catching zombies, exploring virtual reality, or creating their own unique games, the options within the Roblox empire are endless. And for many kids like Bailen, this virtual world rose in importance when their actual world shuttered in the face of the coronavirus—Roblox’s revenue increased by 200%(Opens in a new window) during the pandemic. Not able to run around the playground with friends, many kids settled for their avatars running around a virtual town in Roblox instead.
Despite contacting customer support, Bailen’s mom Jen Meyercheck said she was unable to recover his account. Her son lost at least $100 in digital items he had purchased or bought with gift cards he received. Now that he’s created a new account, Bailen said he doesn’t purchase digital items anymore. “If that happens again, I don’t want to lose another $100,” he said.
Given the popularity of Roblox, the Meyerchecks are just one family navigating a complicated relationship with the game. One likely reason Bailen’s account was hacked is that scammers can sell Robux back to the corporation for actual cash, essentially stealing birthday and chore money from unsuspecting kids. And losing money is just one risk of playing. Kids can also be harassed or bullied online, encounter nasty language, or worse, find rooms in the game where avatars simulate sex and have sexually explicit conversations.
But it’s not all bad and the benefits can outweigh the risks—as long as parents help kids navigate them.
Weighing the Risks and Rewards of Online Gaming
Despite their negative experience, the Meyercheck family still finds value in Roblox. “As parents, we should be creating guardrails for our kids,” Jen Meyercheck said. “We also need to be willing to make hard decisions. That said, online gaming is so popular with kids these days, and I’ve noticed my kids actually tend to have really wholesome and relationship-building time with friends they may not otherwise be able to get together with.”
Roblox has decent safety mechanisms and parental controls, but it is what it is. It’s a multiplayer online game, and that has some risks
Jen Meyercheck, who works as a UX design program manager, describes herself as the kind of parent who’s well versed in technology. Still, “I find most of today’s tech to be unnecessarily hard to monitor,” she said. “Roblox is an absolute mystery to me.”
She’s run out of patience with digital monitoring and has had to rely more on educating her kids. “I generally block access to Roblox during certain times using our wireless mesh network settings, and talk to the kids regularly about scams, hacks, suspicious behavior in others, and how to spot bots.”
What Are the Risks for Kids Who Play Roblox?
The risks of Roblox vary in intensity and frequency, according to Julianna Miner, author of Raising a Screen-Smart Kid(Opens in a new window). For example, it is likely children will see negative comments or have some directed at them. It is unlikely that they will run into a predator who is using the game for nefarious purposes. “The things that really scare us as parents—they are really rare,” she said.
While the worst outcomes may be rare, they do happen, and parents need to be aware of them to come up with appropriate strategies for keeping their kids safe.
(Credit: Roblox)
As far as hacking and scams like Bailen Meyercheck experienced, they are more common than predators. If the scam is reported, Roblox may ban the offending account. Kids should be taught that there’s always risk involved in spending real money in online worlds, but an offer for free in-game currency is a sign that something’s wrong.
Roblox does work constantly to oversee its platform. Personal information and profanity are blacked out in chat boxes, for example, and the servers are monitored 24/7 for concerns.
One of the most shocking problems the game has faced is simulated sex and sex talk. It takes place in “condos,” or online, user-generated spaces. Players talk about sex, some avatars are depicted nude, and the human-like figures have simulated sex. Clearly, such content has no place in an online world that’s largely inhabited by children.
A condo isn’t the kind of place a player would merely stumble upon—they must actively seek it out. And most of these spaces are identified and removed within an hour, a Roblox spokesperson told the BBC(Opens in a new window). Regardless, kids have a way of finding themselves in places they shouldn’t be, and it’s dangerous for those places to exist in Roblox for however short a time.
Once again, the best defense is to combine having conversations about online behavior—what’s appropriate and what’s not, and what children should do if they find themselves in a position they shouldn’t be—with oversight and monitoring. Monitoring alone isn’t enough.
What Is Roblox? Making Games, Making Money, and More
Given the dangers, parents find themselves questioning if they should let their kids play Roblox at all. That answer is dependent on each kid and each family, Miner said.
Miner, who has a background in public health, approaches the kids-and-tech problem through that lens. The dangers kids face in games “has increasingly become a public health topic,” she said. “The mental health data is so severe. We get more data that talks about the relationship between [online interactions and mental health] and we can’t ignore it.”
That doesn’t mean Miner is against Roblox, though. “Roblox has decent safety mechanisms and parental controls, but it is what it is. It’s a multiplayer online game, and that has some risks,” she said.
While Miner said there is no truly accurate data on how many parents let their kids play online multiplayer games, those games have become part of the social fabric. During the pandemic, she noted that games and online interactivity were the only social outlet kids had. While kids may have additional social opportunities now, Roblox and other online spaces are still important to many of them. “Both gaming and social media remain primary social drivers for most American kids,” she said.
What Safety Tools Does Roblox Give Parents?
A spokesperson for Roblox said the company is aware of both legitimate concerns(Opens in a new window) and viral rumors of concerns(Opens in a new window).
According to the spokesperson: “We have a safety-first culture at Roblox and work tirelessly to maintain a platform that is safe, civil, and welcoming for all. People come to Roblox to express themselves creatively and connect with friends. These interactions, experiences, and items are precious to them, which is why we have a stringent safety system in place and strict restrictions around sharing personal information, zero-tolerance for behavior that doesn’t meet our Community Standards, and features specifically aimed at protecting younger members of the Roblox community.”
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The team at Roblox points adults to several resources to help keep their kids safe, including parental guidelines(Opens in a new window), chat settings(Opens in a new window), and age verification features(Opens in a new window). For example, kid accounts are classified as those younger than 13 years and older than 13. Kids younger than 13 have stronger filters on their in-game chats and are more limited in the language that they’re allowed to both say and read. The account owner, which in most cases would be a parent, can further limit or disable who’s allowed to chat with the child player and who can follow them into different areas of the game or invite them to private servers. Those controls are in the Chat & Privacy Settings. Account owners can also protect these settings with a PIN or multi-factor authentication.
If a parent is letting their kid graduate into having more freedom in Roblox, the parent might still want to review the account history from time to time to see their friends list, who has sent direct messages to the player, what items they’ve purchased, and so forth.
(Credit: Roblox)
Other Ways to Make Online Gaming Safe for Kids
There are dozens of parental monitoring software options, such as Norton Family and Net Nanny. Their functionality in online multiplayer games can vary, though, and parents cannot simply install monitoring software and walk away.
Top Ways to Protect Your Kids Online
Conversations about bad behavior online between parents and kids need to include discussions about what will happen to the child if they come forth with information about something untoward happening online. For the youngest kids, coming to the parent first is probably ideal. As they get older, however, they should know that Roblox has anonymous systems for reporting bad actors, and that using them will not bring consequences to kids. “Tattling,” in this instance, is the right choice.
The Benefits of Kids Playing Roblox
Many parents of avid Roblox players have not encountered any of the issues the Meyerchecks faced (or worse), and do experience the positive benefits of letting their kids play. These should also be taken into account as parents decide whether and how much to let their kids engage online.
Online gaming is so popular with kids these days, and I’ve noticed my kids actually tend to have really wholesome and relationship-building time with friends
In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Casey Hambleton has had a wholly positive experience with Roblox for their eight-year-old, Charlie. “My kid plays constantly. No issues. As a homeschool parent, it has helped her develop reading and spelling skills that are at a high school level even though she’s eight.” Charlie was never motivated to learn to read with traditional books, but wanting to chat with others and read the in-game commentary did the trick.
Siv Fern Eng, a mom of two daughters in Seattle, said that playing the game together is a bonding experience. “For us, Roblox has become a fun family thing. We have all played together on several occasions,” she said. During the pandemic, their whole family had their avatars meet up outside the Disneyland castle. “We took a picture in front of the castle during the fireworks!” For the most part, Eng’s kids play on private servers with kids they know in real life, which seems to have avoided most issues. She is aware that safety concerns do exist, though.
Vigilance Makes the Risks Manageable
Ultimately, each parent has to decide if Roblox is the right choice for their child—and educate themselves on the platform if they choose to allow it. Meyercheck, despite her negative experiences, continues to believe the value outweighs the risks for now. “With gaming, the kids have a lot of getting-to-know-you chatter going on while playing. I hear them coaching each other through how to reach certain levels, win challenges, etcetera. They laugh together. They playfully tease one another. They also encourage one another and celebrate wins.”
Miner said the Meyerchecks are on the right path by frequent monitoring, constantly reevaluating the situation, and having ongoing discussions about online safety and civility. “We don’t want to create the anxiety of threat being everywhere, but we do want to talk about it. Most of this stuff can be managed. Think about this logically. How can we limit the likelihood of this happening?” She added, “Gaming can be fun sibling and family bonding time when they all get along. It’s definitely not all bad; we just have to be careful.”
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