The dangers of Roblox: Children viewing harmful content while gaming

'Roblox is one we are paying particular attention to this year because of its popularity. We have seen that popularity grow and it really concerns us,' CyberSafe Kids chief executive Alex Cooney said.

The Government has been urged to regulate online gaming after a survey found children as young as eight years old have viewed disturbing material while playing popular games such as Roblox.

The study by Cybersafe Kids, a charity focused on child safety online, said the lack of focus on regulating online gaming was in stark contrast to the regular discussions about limiting social media access for children.

The 'Left To Their Own Devices' study found:

• A quarter of eight-12-year-olds reported being bothered or upset by something experienced or seen online; 
• 23% of incidents which bothered or upset the children surveyed took place on the Roblox platform;
• Exposure to horror content was the most common negative experience reported on YouTube;
• 38% of eight-12-year-olds gamed with strangers online;
• Almost 65% of eight-12-year-olds were contacted by a stranger during an online game;
• 55% of children aged eight to 12 did not tell a parent when bothered, confused, or upset by harmful content or unsolicited contact, rising to 63% for 12-14-year-olds;
• 82% of eight-12-year-olds already have their own social media or instant messaging account, regardless of a minimum age restriction of 13 on most popular platforms;
• 75% of eight-12-year-olds have their own YouTube account, while 40% have their own Roblox account.

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The report is calling for age verification to be made a mandatory requirement for access to online services and seeks legislation for a minimum age at which online platforms can provide services to children.

Report is calling for age verification to be made a mandatory requirement for access to online services and seeks legislation for a minimum age at which online platforms can provide services to children.

CyberSafe Kids chief executive Alex Cooney said: “There is a lot of focus in general discussion on social media and the harm of social media specifically. What we have noticed is that this almost lets off the hook various services that don’t see themselves as social media.” 

Pointing out the key element of social media is connection, she said: “Roblox is one we are paying particular attention to this year because of its popularity. We have seen that popularity grow and it really concerns us.” 

She acknowledged gaming environments were great fun but stressed the ability to connect with strangers through them was “problematic”.

“There are so many things in these online environments that are putting them in harm’s way, whether that is access to people who wish to harm them in some way — grooming, exploitation, or cyberbullying or exposure to inappropriate content — or the algorithms sending them down rabbit holes and distorting their world view in some cases. These are young developing minds and we need to treat children as children in these online spaces.”

Ms Cooney welcomed the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act and the forthcoming Online Safety Code but she said: “We are concerned they do not go far enough in relation to children specifically.”