The Dark Side of Roblox: How Technology is Making Us Dependent
What is Roblox?
Roblox is a trendy online gaming platform with more than 56 million daily global users.
It’s a real paradise for creators, as Roblox provide them with building tools so anyone can bring their game ideas to life. Official figures show that in 2022 “developers and creators published more than 15,000 experiences (traditionally known as games — JI) every single day.” At least 20 of them attracted over 1 billion visits just in 2022, according to VentureBeat. “The top five most visited experiences of 2022 were: Brookhaven, Blox Fruits, BedWars, Tower of Hell, Pet Simulator X!.
One of the reasons for such a success is the fact that it’s not just a platform for indie game developers, but it also offers a strong community for players to interact with each other. Users can create their own virtual worlds, play games, buy or sell items, and socialize with friends. This sense of community and the ability for players to develop and share their content has helped to make Roblox a hit. The same may possess hidden dangers.
First, Roblox is incredibly popular among children and young people. “Roblox is far more popular with younger users with most being over the age of 9 years,” Noah Landsberg from the Influencer Marketing Hub states in his story. “The largest demographic consists of users between the ages of 9 and 12.” According to Statista, as of September 2020, 29 percent of Roblox game users were aged from 9 to 12 years worldwide. The latest company data shows that in 2022 “more than half of the people on Roblox are 13 and older.” Do you agree that this type of audience is quite sensitive to the dangers that come with using the platform?
Addiction
One of the biggest concerns with Roblox is how addictive it can be. Children and teens can quickly lose track of time while playing, and some even develop a dependence on the platform. Influencer Marketing Hub aggregated exciting statistics that show that Roblox’s average daily user spends 156 minutes or 2.6 hours per day on the platform. “The total hours engaged for the second quarter of 2022 was 11.3 billion, up by 16% year on year. In July 2022, Roblox achieved an all-time high, with 4.739 billion hours of engagement by daily active hours.”
Parents usually worry that such immersion can lead to problems with homework, chores, and overall responsibilities. As for me, it shows a dangerous trend of forgetting the natural world in favor of the virtual.
The youngsters may even prefer to spend time on Roblox rather than socializing with friends and family.
Easy money idea
Many people, especially young ones, have the illusion that it is pretty easy to make money by creating content, e.g., a game on the Roblox platform. Roblox’s statistics are stunning at some point. According to Venture Beats, in 2022, “more than 8,000 experiences (games) garnered over a million unique user sessions, and hundreds reached over 100 million unique sessions.” A new Evade game was created in 2022, finding millions of users in weeks!
Such an audience is a goldmine for every content creator, especially considering that Roblox offers them many ways to monetize their experiences. They can use paid access, game passes, private servers, creating and selling virtual items, and many more.
But a tiny nuance can slow down the march to success. The truth is that creating a successful game on Roblox requires a significant amount of time, effort, and skill. It takes work to create a game that will appeal to a large audience and generate enough revenue to be profitable. Furthermore, the platform is highly competitive, with thousands of games and developers vying for players’ attention and money.
Moreover, the thought of easy money is dangerous because it can lead to disappointment and frustration when the reality of the situation does not live up to expectations. The idea may foster a sense of entitlement and a belief that success should come easily and quickly, which can be detrimental to one’s mental and emotional well-being.
In-game purchase
Furthermore, Roblox has been criticized for its in-game purchases. Many games on the platform are free-to-play, but players can buy virtual currency with real money to purchase items and upgrades. This can lead to children and teens spending large amounts of money without their parent’s knowledge. Many stories show children draining their parents’ banking accounts in days, like the one about an 11-year-old girl who made more than 300 in-app purchases over five days on Roblox, resulting in a £2,400 bill.
Communication
On the one hand, Roblox’s community-driven approach is excellent. On the other, while Roblox allows players to communicate with others through its chat feature, it can be a breeding ground for inappropriate behavior, create online predators or lead to cyberbullying. While the platform has filters and moderators in place to prevent this, it’s not always possible to catch every instance of bad behavior. Users can harass, threaten, or intimidate other players without facing the consequences.
Of course, it’s not just kids who are becoming addicted to Roblox. The issue is much larger. The dependence on technology is wider than just some specific platform, and it’s a problem that’s becoming increasingly prevalent in society. We’re becoming addicted to our smartphones, social media, and the constant stream of information available at our fingertips. And as we become more dependent on technology, we’re losing touch with the real world and the people around us.
