Is Roblox Linked To The Disappearance Of A 15-Year-Old Boy? Gaming Platform Raises Fresh Concerns For Parents; Here’s What They Can Do To Protect Their Children

A recent case has highlighted the gaming platform Roblox, where a 15-year-old boy, Thomas Medlin, disappeared two weeks ago on Friday, January 9, from New York City. It was believed that in order to meet with someone with whom he met at Roblox, Medlin went missing. 

Medlin’s absence led to opening up the concern over child safety and Roblox, which is considered to be one of the largest kids’ gaming platforms. Reportedly, it has nearly 83 million daily active users, while 42% of its global players are under the age of 13. 

Is Roblox problematic?

Amid Roblox’s powerful gaming exposure, it intensifies problems among many users and raises concern among parents over their children for consuming inappropriate/sexualized content, child predators, and excessive in-game spending. Here are few key problems which may triggered to childrens-

• Children can interact with strangers and adults through private messaging or in-game chat, raising a chance of grooming or solicitation.

• Despite safety measures, children may come across offensive, violent, or sexually explicit information despite safety precautions (usually in user-generated “condo” games). 

• Purchasing “Robux” for advantages is strongly encouraged by the game, which can result in sometimes enormous unintentional spending.

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• Some objectionable content unavoidably gets past monitoring due to the enormous volume of user-generated games. 

How can parents protect their children from Roblox? 

Parents can protect their children by creating their own account and linking it to their child’s account to manage settings, restrict chats, and set a 4-digit PIN. By changing the setting to chat only with “friends,” you can restrict children from messaging any random persons. 

Parents can also set a monthly budget to prevent unauthorized, large expenses. Continuous monitoring through Roblox history can also ensure what the child is doing on the app. It is also important for parents to teach children to immediately block and report anyone who makes them uncomfortable.

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