DS Risk Warning: ICT; Concern about Roblox

Thanks to one of our customers who raised this with us earlier and to Mandy, or Safeguarding Lead for her speedy advice repeated below:

'Internet pornographers have infiltrated a children's gaming site called Roblox. The imagery that children can be exposed to is sexually violent and extremely disturbing.

Roblox is designed to be an accessible site for children. But whilst the games are aimed at 8-18 year olds, there are no age restrictions for users. This means both adults and young people can play and communicate with each other on the platform.

All games are multiplayer and include a written chat feature, which is visible to players within each individual game. Users can also make and receive friend requests during gameplay and this means that they can chat to each other outside of the game.

There is also a section where players use their imagination and skills to create their own games and share these with others. The ability to create and play games can be very appealing to young people who like to create the content they see. However, because content is user-generated it can mean that some games might not be appropriate for young children. For example, whilst the graphics are not very life like, some of the games feature weapons and blood, and recently, sexual violence.

The game has become increasingly popular and schools are advised to make parent/carers aware of the risks of accessing it. Measures that parent/carers should be aware of include:

1. Teach children to speak about anything they see online that is disturbing or upsetting.

2. Make sure you and your children know about block and report functions on the site and can use them.

3. Find out about parental controls and use them, including additional settings for the under 13s.

4. Consider blocking access the site altogether.

Here is some detailed advice on the matter from the UK Safer Internet Centre:

https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/blog/roblox-guide-parents'

Hope that helps.

Bill

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