By Gavin Boyle
Online video games can often lead children down dangerous paths, most recently seen through “Spawnism,” a cult-like organization started on Roblox that encourages children to self harm and opens them to exploitation.
“It’s a stark example of how fictional narratives in gaming can be misinterpreted, leading to real-world consequences when not critically examined,” internet safety experts at the Accelerationism Research Consortium said about Spawnism.
The cult-like system stems from a game available on Roblox that rewards players with an extra life — aka. a respawn — when they perform certain actions. Bad actors have taken this concept into the real world, encouraging children to record themselves engraving the Spawnism symbol into their flesh. These videos are then being used to blackmail these kids into further harmful acts such as sexploitation and eating disorders.
Experts warn that situations like this may become more common as more bad actors begin using cult practices to manipulate children. Based on their stage of life, children are more susceptible to the rituals that create a sense of belonging and purpose, while also employing emotional manipulation and encouraging secrecy.
Adolescent brains are particularly wired to seek out belonging, and children oftentimes do not have the life experience to understand when they are being manipulated, meaning exploiters have a high rate of success when targeting kids through these methods.
Related: Has Roblox Finally Gotten Serious About Child Safety?
Parents, however, are not helpless to save their kids from these methods. The most important safeguard they can employ is being aware of the games their children are playing and keeping an eye on who they are playing with. At the same time, parents should also have frequent conversations with their children about the things they see when they are online and pursue and investigation when red flags arise.
At the same time, the companies that host these experiences, like Roblox, need to take the safety of their players seriously and expand their guidelines to combat the ever-evolving methods bad actors employ to prey on their victims.
While Roblox has taken great strides in recent months to overhaul its safety procedures, this has clearly not been enough, as the spread of Spawnism occurred after the platform enacted these changes. Roblox is not the only platform to face this problem; TikTok and YouTube have experienced similar issues in the past as kids have been targeted and exploited through their systems.
Ultimately, parents need to understand that the internet is a dangerous place, but when they employ proper practices, the chances that their kids will be exploited without anyone knowing are low.
Read Next: How to Protect Your Child From Sexual Exploitation
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