The controversy is not new, we are not surprised that digital platforms, social networks and video games are the focus of attack when serious cases of kidnappings, child harassment, and violent behavior in young people, the technological platforms that allow interactivity, communication and socialization in real time and scale are already a real -time socialization, of course, an entrance door for criminals of all kinds.
In 1999 the world stopped when the news of two young people who entered their school, Columbine Institute, (Colorado USA) and opened fire against teachers and colleagues alike, killing 12 people and wounding 21 others before suicide, in those times these events were much rarely than they are today and the media, as well as the authorities and family members focused the attention in which these young people were Mortal Kombat and the music of Marilyn Manson, drawing a direct line between psychopathic and violent behavior and his taste for certain video games and music.
De Columbine a Roblox
A little more than 25 years of that massacre and we see that neither the video games nor the technology that develops them has stopped, on the contrary, today, with the appearance of social networks, the virtual worlds, the metoverso and much more powerful tools of development This industry dominates the world of entertainment, of communication and the “pop” culture of the new generations and with this exponential growth the risk has also grown, the risk, the criminal activity has grown Information, education and rules.
Roblox’s good face
This last week we have seen a lot of positive activity within Roblox, the most popular social games platform in the world.
On the one hand, the platform once again broke its own record, managing to have connected and playing at the same time 47.3 million users within its different games and experiences, the company’s actions are upward, even above its IPO and is constantly attracting new users, companies and brands to develop games, experiences and communication channels within it.
This platform aims to monopolize 10% of the world video game market in the coming years and if its growth continues, there is no doubt that it will achieve it.
The strength and growth of this platform has allowed studies, independent and creative digital creators to generate ideas and launch very successful scale games, practically erasing the entrance barriers to develop video games and market them worldwide.
Mexico is one of the countries with the most players within Roblox worldwide with more users nationwide than LinkedIn and X Combined.
Roblox’s dark side
All this growth, success and accessibility does not come without its risks, errors and controversies.
Practically at the same time that Roblox was enjoying his historical maximums, another story was coming out in the headlines of the news, a much darker, the favorite of the yellowists and of which many times they only look for the “red note” to generate views in their videos.
The news? On the one hand Roblox is facing legal positions for lack of concrete responsibility and action to improve their security techniques, due to recent cases of child abuse and even kidnapping of minors through the platform.
On the other hand, Roblox, made the mistake (in my view) to punish and attack users who were taking the role of independent “guards”, exposing and even sending several of these children’s kidnappers to jail.
Roblox, in short, is a potential point of contact for these criminals and are not minor issues, are issues that Roblox must attend immediately and with all the technology and security protocols that the money and the technical talent it has can build, but if it is necessary that we understand in a very clear way that Roblox is only that, an initial contact point.
The truth?
Roblox is a platform that was born to be a space for creation, collaboration and game between children and that over time has climbed to be a monster of the entertainment industry, inheriting the best and worst in the world of social networks and the world of video games.
In my opinion, although Roblox has made mistakes and in his attempts to grow the demographic of its users, trying to be a platform also for adults, it has had unfortunate and unfocused ideas, it remains a platform that is in the vast majority of cases safe, entertaining and collaborative, the cases we see in the news are usually, the exception and not the rule of how the platform is used.
Shared responsibility
Those of us who are parents today, that we are between 40 and 50 years of age and we have minor children, we have the responsibility of realizing and being part of the digital and virtual world of our children, personally I consider that Roblox and video games are much safer and healthier than any other social network and at least, video games make our children enter into action, think and have to react to what is happening to what is happening to what is going on, they are not just speaking.
We are a generation that saw all this technology born, we were not born with it if we saw it born, evolve and adapt to it, we are the generation that can positively educate our children about the use of video games and platforms such as Roblox, but above all we are a generation that can and must share with them these forms of entertainment.
Before an increasingly technological world, we are the generation that maintains the connection between the virtual and the real, we know how to make the two worlds work for the good of the following generations.
About the author:
Gonzalo the Giraault Moha
Founding Partner Radient Game Studios
“We are what we play”
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The opinions expressed are only the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and the editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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