By Gavin Boyle
Police officer David Gomez explained why Roblox is dangerous for kids to play unsupervised, recalling the multiple incidents he has responded to because of the game.
“Unfortunately, as a police officer, I have been to more than a few service calls where a young child was friended and coached into nude photos or money transactions of some time [on Roblox]…” Officer Gomez said before sharing four reasons why Roblox is a dangerous game. “Roblox has a chat feature which allows predators to friend your kids…Roblox has some pay features that you buy with Robucks…This is a very addicting game for kids and will suck down days of their time if parents are not vigilant…Roblox and Fortnite are the two applications I see that have the most 911 calls by parents.”
“My recommendation for allowing this game is to closely monitor screen time and the contact list of who your child is chatting with,” Officer Gomez added. “I would not allow kids to play this without a parent within view of the game-play.”
Roblox has had its fair share of scandals due to lawsuits and exposés which have revealed just how dangerous the site can be. In 2024, for example, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation called the game a “pedophile hellscape for kids,” and internet experts agree that it remains so.
“Parents are letting children play on Roblox thinking it’s a cute little kids’ game, with no idea what is really happening,” Kirra Pendergast, founder and CEO of Safe on Social Media Pty Ltd, told Bloomberg in May. “If I could wipe one app off the face of the Earth right now, it would be that one — it would be Roblox.”
Beyond sexual abuse, the site has also come under fire for enabling underage gambling through third-party sites that traded with Robucks.
Related: Does Roblox Exploit Young Developers?
“The three virtual casinos launched widespread marketing campaigns, prominent Roblox social media influencers discussed or endorsed the virtual casinos, and Bloxflip had over 5.7 million monthly visitors in 2022,” said U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. “[It is reasonable to infer that] Roblox knew how these virtual casinos operated and could foresee the probability that minors would navigate to these sites and gamble their Robux away.”
Internet safety experts have good reasons to warn against Roblox. Unfortunately, the platform is more popular than ever with some of its games garnering over 20 million players. Nonetheless, the size of the game is what makes it so dangerous and so difficult to moderate. As Officer Gomez suggests, parents should be extremely wary when considering whether or not to allow their children to play this game.
Read Next: Roblox Reveals Latest Step to Protect Kids. Will It Work?
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