Why games like Roblox are bad for kids: What parents need to know

Time of India

a day ago

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The world has completely changed with the progression in technology. Augmented reality and virtual reality can transport a person into a world never seen before. Obviously, something new and unexplored interests the human mind, especially when it is young.
Earlier, the idea of thrill for children included visiting amusement parks, playing in the neighbourhood with friends and pranking each other together. What they learned from this were innocent values of friendship, joy, and fun. But now, the world has turned darker. Children now remain seated on the bed, phones in their hands, playing virtual games that teach them concepts that are too young for their minds. When your child is playing games like Roblox, they are not just interacting with an algorithm; they are "practising" the concepts of trades, gambling, sexual service, murder and more.
The young mind might think of this as a game, as something that they are only doing in a virtual space, and thus, many will never tell their parents about what really conspired in their online games. For parents who didn't know this before and understand how detrimental this can be for children, here's the truth.
The dark reality of new age video games
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Games as you knew them are no more. Let's take the example of some scenarios to understand how different aspects of the new era games work, Now, one can play a game from the comfort of their home, but in a game, they could be in a Nazi concentration camp, could be getting intimate with their teacher, could be re-enacting a school shooting, or could be in a strip club.
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The children could talk to a stranger whose real name, age and identity will remain an enigma to them and could ask them about their entire life in a side panel conversation. They could also ask them to meet without your knowledge, as being parents, you would decline; they could pretend to be their friend or even begin a virtual relationship.
Playing these games every day, children could not only deal with weak eyesight but also gain knowledge that is too early to reach their young minds.
The concepts of barter, love, relationships, sex, racial discrimination and more are made aware to them through untrusted sources, and a parent would never know how.
This is the shocking reality of most of the games on Roblox, and you could spend your child's entire childhood without knowing any of this.
The evolution of video games
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Video games have been around since the late 1950s. However, with the speed and bandwidth of the internet growing rapidly around the 2000s, a new model called Games-as-a-Service (GaaS) came about, where games were constantly updated with new content, features, and events to maintain the audience.
Later, users could also make in-game purchases for skins, passes, ammunition and more to make it more personalized (and addictive).
By 2018, most video games had developed to blend social media dynamics with subscription-style models. Leading the realm were three giants: Minecraft, Fortnite and Roblox. Minecraft remained the safest to play with its open-ended block-building format. Fortnite arrived as a battle royale with trends and Marvel collaborations.
And Roblox was more of a streaming platform with user-created experiences.
While Minecraft and Fortnite have roughly 30 million monthly active users under 18, they are nothing compared to Roblox, which has 304 million monthly active users under 18. What keeps the kids interested in these games is the interaction with anonymous adults, age-above content and addiction due to a user-created design. Additionally, with their avatar options, they make the kids spend money to look "better" and "cooler".
How do modern games harm young minds?
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There are a variety of ways in which these games harm young minds.
Time displacement
As per a recent Common Sense Media report, 8-12 year olds spent an average of 2 hours and 18 minutes on video games in 2019 and 2 hours and 27 minutes in 2021. A 2021 survey among 12-18 year olds found that 57% boys and 36% girls reported gaming for at least 3.5 hours every day. These hours spent gaming are displaced with sleep, playing outdoors, reading, studying and other important chores.
Addiction
Since new games are created by users on Roblox every day and monetization offers the option of personalization, users get more and more addicted rather than bored. A 2022 meta-analysis found that 8.8% of adolescents met the criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD).
Financial exploitation
These games demand money for personalisation, new ammunition, avatars and even levels, encouraging children to demand money from their parents and spend it on them.
Gambling
They also encourage children to trade and gamble with each other through chat forms and mechanics. A 2018 survey found that 2,865 adolescent gamers found that 13% had played gambling-style games online.
Anonymous friends
Open chats and anonymous conversations expose children to strangers, including those who can misguide and manipulate them into wrong and harmful actions. 10% of teen girls have received unwanted sexually explicit content while gaming.
Depression and attention problems
Heavy gaming is associated with elevated risks of depression. A study of 221,096 adolescents found a curvilinear relationship between gaming and mental health. Gaming for more than five hours a day was linked to elevated risks of depression. Additionally, playing video games can also lead to insufficient and low-quality sleep.