Sex predators infiltrate hit online game for kids
● An online entertainment platform aimed at children has been infiltrated by sex predators who are using the game to create explicit videos, including in-game rape, incest and orgies.
Roblox allows players, some as young as seven, to create their own game and interact with others online, and is meant to stimulate children’s imagination.
In recent weeks an American mother’s social media post reporting that her sevenyear-old daughter’s Roblox avatar was gangraped in the game became a catalyst for parents worldwide to better manage their children’s access to the platform.
It also prompted South African social media law expert Emma Sadleir to warn parents of Roblox fans about the game.
“It’s one of those games that is very attractive, particularly to younger children, and I think parents think it’s built for kids because its quite creative. It looks like you’re playing Lego.
“Roblox has to take much more responsibility in making sure, where users are reported, they take those accounts down.
“But as a parent, you need to know what your children are up to and you have got to satisfy yourself that the games they are playing are safe.”
She is particularly concerned about the extent to which children are exposed to “very hardcore from a very young age”.
She said: “I think in SA, the average age children are exposed to pornography is 11, but from my school visits, I think that age drops to about nine.”
Sadleir said she believes South Africans are very conservative and don’t talk to their children about porn. “We don’t believe that our are kids are looking at porn, that’s the problem. It’s not unusual for a six-year-old to google the word ‘sex’.
“I think parents wake up when it’s too late. I have had cases of kids as young as 11 sexting. For me this a direct result of early exposure to pornography.
“YouTube is hosting so many Roblox porn videos it’s shocking … One video I watched was viewed over 200,000 times.
“If a child is playing a game they will go onto YouTube for hints and tips. So it’s very usual for a nine-year-old to go onto YouTube and search for Roblox and those things pop up,” said Sadleir.
Durbanite Lee van Wyk banned his eightyear-old son, Alexander, from playing Roblox.
“He took to Roblox last year some time, mainly because he loves to build and develop things, which the platform allows.”
When Van Wyk learnt that pornography had infiltrated the game, he did an online search.
“I was mortified. When I did my homework previously on Roblox, I did it on the premise that it was age-suitable. My wife and I sat all the kids down and had a discussion with them.
“My kids spend a considerable amount of time on YouTube, whether it’s school or ‘how to’ videos. We told them inappropriate things have been added to the game … and that until the people who control Roblox fix it, the game is banned in our home.
“Alexander is heartbroken and asks every weekend when he can play. He is a very unhappy young man, but there is no way I can expose him to that,” said Van Wyk.