• Fondots@lemmy.world
    17·
    2 days ago

    You know, it’s now occuring to me that I have absolutely no clue what Roblox actually is. It’s been around forever, I’ve been seeing gift cards for it in stores for I’m pretty sure well over a decade, I hear lots of talk about all of the dangers and how addictive it is for kids, etc.

    But I haven’t the foggiest idea what the game is actually like. To the best of my knowledge I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a single screenshot of it, at least not one that was clearly labeled as being from Roblox.

    And while I’m a childfree curmudgeon in my 30s, I do have a few friends with kids that I see with some regularity, and I’ve never heard any of them mention Roblox even in passing.

    I feel like I’m in a really weird bubble of roblox-ignorance, I’m not exactly mad about it, but it feels weird that for as big as Roblox is supposed to be that I’ve never seen anyone talk about the actual game, just how big of a problem it is.

    • sobchak@programming.dev
      5·
      13 hours ago

      I think it’s like SecondLife or Metaverse for kids. I saw a short video about it, where kids were being exploited for labor. E.g. some of the kids had managers, forcing them to crunch creating and promoting content for Robux, or whatever it’s called. Also saw an interview with the CEO, where he said he’d be open to adding adult content to the game (which is sus considering the problems the game is having with predators). I’ve also noticed the game is rated for teenagers on the Play Store, but I’m pretty sure it’s targeted toward younger kids.

    • IcyToes@sh.itjust.works
      7·
      1 day ago

      I’m in the UK. Most of the kids I’m aware of play it. I know in other countries in other continents it’s popular.

      It’s a platform that people login and can play experiences (games) they choose. Anyone can make those games. Popular ones like 99 Nights in the Forest can have 1 million playing at a time.

      The fact you know kids that don’t play it is odd, as it’s huge. Or maybe they do and you aren’t aware. Cause usually all their friends are playing it.