As of August 2020, Roblox had over 164 million monthly active users, including more than half of all American children under 16
- Roblox is a platform where users can create and play games made by other users, fostering connections and community.
- Each player CAN choose their own game path, ranging from horror elements in games or inappropriate content within user-made mini games (available to all players).
- Parental Controls: players of all ages are able to communicate and play with users around the world, which can often pose safety risks. There is no age limit to play, so your child may be playing with a 50-year-old from a different state entirely. Roblox itself does take care in filtering for players under 13, keeping them away from horror-created games or possibly inappropriate sexual content. However, after the player turns 13, these controls are completely turned off by Roblox.
- In-App Purchases: Players can use in-game currency called “Robux” to buy and sell virtual items to other players. However, real money can also be used to purchase more Robux for use in games. It can be confusing for younger players to distinguish between virtual game currency and real money.
- Chat settings: Roblox has an automatic chat feature that allows players to communicate with each other as soon as they open the game. This means that children who play Roblox can communicate with anyone, including adults.
- Good news! How can parents start to help their children have a fun, safe Roblox experience?: Both the child and parent having access to the same account provides opportunities for dialogue about what is happening within their games and who they are speaking to. It is also important to create a PIN in settings, so that your child cannot change the safety settings themselves within the app (this includes Account Restrictions and Content Settings). You can also set only friends and users that the gamer follows are allowed to enter the game you make, that way, you are not speaking with a random stranger on the internet.
-iParent101.com Team
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roblox
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