The County of Los Angeles filed suit today against social media gaming platform Roblox alleging that the platform failed to protect children from predatory behavior. The lawsuit alleges that while Roblox markets itself as a safe digital space for creativity, it is in reality an unsafe online environment that has become a breeding ground for predators.
Have parents tried parenting their kids instead of expecting everyone else to do it for them?
As someone without kid, this is too easy of a defense. And if you truly think about it for more than 5 minutes, or watch any documentary on how pedophiles operate, you’d realize.
That would require them to actually think at all, it makes much more sense to expect the parent to monitor the child’s activity constantly and never let them do anything on the Internet unsupervised. They will also then complain years later about helicopter parents not giving them any freedom
You’re setting up a false dichotomy, don’t you think?
Never let your kids play age-appropriate online games, which Roblox ostensibly falls under – risk forming lifelong resentment as kids forfeit social capital upon exclusion from peers
Let the kids play, but insert yourself into every facet of that experience and every online interaction for the entire time – first of all, who has time for that? This course also risks heavy resentment and embarrassment
Am I missing another option? As far as we know, the parents took the middle path by vetting the game and thought they were being reasonable about exposure, but the kids were still harmed.
I think this sums it up. Regardless of your opinion as a parent you have to trust and respect your children. This is multipled by how many “other kids” get to do a thing.
You can’t lock them away. Unfortunately this has become the current generations social platform and entertainment. If you don’t have it, you’re a weird kid.
There is this razor edge of control and freedom you have to dance as a parent all the time, not just with Roblox.