The invisible risks of Roblox: "I have friends who have boyfriends"

Barcelona"I have friends who have boyfriends or boys who come in to have sex," says Jana, 7, about some classmates who play on Roblox, a popular online video game platform that also allows users to program and play games created by themselves or other users. According to the company's latest reportThe platform continues to grow: by the end of 2025, it had 144 million daily users, who had dedicated 78.6 billion hours to the game throughout the year. This figure would be equivalent to the entire population of Catalonia (around 8 million people) playing Roblox 24 hours a day for more than a year.

But this commercial success masks risks of coexistence and security. More than 63 million adults share digital space daily with some 50 million children under the age of thirteen, often without effective control barriers. "Roblox is a structurally unsafe platform for children due to its social design and the absence of robust age verification systems, profile reviews, and content monitoring: anyone can enter, participate, create, and share games with virtually no filters," explains Irene Montiel, a professor in the criminology degree program and the master's program in cybercrime.

The Roblox universe—based on characters in the form of blogs, vibrant colors, and seemingly "creative and educational" spaces—has led many parents to lower their guard, when in reality it is primarily a space for adults.

A children's universe with adult figures

"Many children in my class play; some meet up with classmates and others talk to strangers," Jana adds. Creating a fake profile on Roblox is very easy, and the company's internal policy doesn't enforce age restrictions: even very young children can play, although children under 5 aren't allowed to create a profile because they are considered to lack the cognitive skills to use the platform. Once registered, users can access millions of video games, buy avatar accessories, move around different environments, and interact with other players via chat. "On Roblox, it's very easy for an adult to impersonate a child or teenager in order to deceive and manipulate them, and solicit explicit images and personal information," warns Carmen López, professor of pedagogy and expert in family education.

Last year in the United States, more than 24,000 reports were filed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the agency that handles suspected cases of child sexual exploitation detected on Roblox. "In these types of spaces, the exchange of child sexual abuse material is very likely. If the victim and perpetrator are physically close, attempts to meet may occur, but above all, what they seek is to obtain child sexual abuse material," explain sources from the Central Cybercrime Unit of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police).

In our house, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) She recently warned about the impact of Roblox chat rooms on children's mental health. "Children don't have the capacity to say no to certain requests sufficiently developed, nor have they internalized strategies to detect the harmful nature of certain behaviors," notes Carmen López, author of It sets limits, not screens.

Talking to strangers is not child's play

It is in these environments that risks such as the following can arise: grooming(Online sexual harassment) An adult interacts with a minor, gains their trust, and then asks for sexual images, videos, or interactions, or even physical encounters. research by Hindenburg Research and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation A group on Roblox called "Adult Studios" with over 3,300 members was detected, where, according to these reports, users exchanged child pornography and solicited sexual acts with minors. The chat rooms where child pornography was exchanged lacked age restrictions.

"Children are unaware of the risks involved when they talk in chat rooms or interact with strangers; they don't perceive that they can be harmed. They are enjoying themselves and having fun, and they are not really aware of the dangers this can entail," notes Montiel, also a researcher with the VICRIM group at the University.

6 years: increasingly younger victims

"The age of the victims is becoming extremely young; we are registering cases of children as young as 6, 7, and 8 years old," warns the Central Cybercrime Unit of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). "The problem is a lack of awareness: many parents think it's a game, not a social network, and therefore not dangerous." In Spain, it is the most popular video game among children aged 4 to 15, according to [the relevant data/reference].Growth from Knowledge (GfK) study.

"Some of my friends have been playing Roblox for years; their parents let them use their phones and they play," explains Jana, a second-grade student. This is a common practice, according to the police: "They often play on their parents' phones and, after exchanging pictures, they delete the conversations so their parents don't notice. Almost all video games include chat, and if it's not restricted in the settings, it becomes a gateway for strangers."

Robux as an emotional lure

This lack of risk perception can lead them to accept abusive situations or the exchange of sexual images in return for prizes or virtual currencies like Robux. "Digital currencies or the exchange of virtual objects are used as a gateway to groomingThese are the initial hooks in the deception, explain the Central Cybercrime Unit of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). In many recent cases, this is the main mechanism for initiating manipulation.

They offer free Robux or expensive gifts—like pets—in exchange for sexual material or to steer the conversation toward encrypted messaging apps. "Often they jump from Roblox to Telegram, WhatsApp, or Discord to 'become better friends' and talk about other things privately. This makes it much easier to..." grooming "Because they leave the areas where the conversation could be traced and enter encrypted channels where detection is very difficult," warns Montiel. (Messaging channels). This leap adds elements to the investigation; it doesn't make it impossible, but it does imply more steps to reach the perpetrator," explain sources from the Central Cybercrime Unit.

Dopamine, anxiety, and immature brains

For many children, getting a dress or costume for their avatar and standing out from the crowd can become a priority. The Robux economy is gigantic: in 2025, users spent over €4.265 billion on this virtual currency. This means that more than €11.6 million is injected into this universe every day.

A large portion of the billions that Roblox generates in virtual currency comes from what are called variable rewardsThese gambling mechanisms, designed to maximize playtime, can generate addictive behaviors in still-developing brains. "They are intermittent rewards that you don't know when they will arrive; this produces a large dopamine surge and constant anxiety. Until the age of 25, the necessary skills to self-regulate, control impulses, make decisions, curb a specific behavior, or manage frustration are not developed; this is not due to a lack of willpower, but rather to biology," explains the pedagogy.

Some countries, like Belgium and the Netherlands, are regulating these types of rewards because they consider them disguised gambling. Because they are "variable," the child feels compelled to "try it one more time" to see if the unexpected prize will finally appear; this is what creates the compulsive habit. "It's widely demonstrated that variable reinforcement is highly addictive and difficult to eliminate due to the mistaken belief that persistence will lead to a reward," says López. "Some children have spent fortunes or fallen victim to scams because of their naiveté," López adds.

This is the same principle behind the success of slot machines. The educator warns that when a brain becomes accustomed to these rewards, everyday activities—reading a book, listening to the teacher, looking at the board, playing in the park—can become boring.

Aggressors also use other psychological tactics such as admiration or building a bond of trust—often because they are more familiar with the platform—where the key factor is emotional. "In online games, unlike a social network, the child makes decisions: how they dress their avatar or which room they enter. If they are not mature enough, they may feel they have control and power because their parents aren't present. This feeling of 'freedom' makes them overly trusting, and this is when they become more vulnerable to manipulation by an adult who is interested in them." Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police). It is estimated that the platform processes more than 50,000 messages every second.

Codes, emojis, and hidden words

Following the criticism for grooming And due to the lack of control, Roblox has recently activated several security improvements, such as maturity labels that limit access to certain areas, and more restrictive chat filters for users under 13—which censor insults, phone numbers, and certain words. However, experts warn that this is insufficient. "Effective age verification mechanisms must be established, and contact between adults and minors must be limited. Predators know how to bypass these filters using codes or keywords," warns Montiel.

Users employ variations of words—such as writing "sex"—or specific emojis to circumvent the platform's security. Precisely, the search for Revealing the reality The game was analyzed four months after the security improvements were implemented, and it was noted that areas with sexual, violent, or highly inappropriate content persisted.

One of the main problems is the proliferation of "pop-up" games with adult content that last only a few hours but attract children before Roblox's algorithms detect and close them. These experiences are known as condos or games of roleplay extreme cases where sadistic or sexualized violence is permitted. Some examples – now closed – are Boys and Girls Club Role Play, he Public Bathroom either Maternity based on beating pregnant women.

"There may be a slight moderation, but it's clearly ineffective: many spaces with explicit sexual and violent content are slipping through," Montiel denounces. "When a child plays in such a context, there's a risk of minimizing the feeling of doing something wrong because they perceive it as wrong. It desensitizes them to real situations of violence," warns the psychologist and criminologist from the UOC.

The psychological impact: fear, guilt, and silence

The impact of grooming In children, it is intense and long-lasting. "Many are so young that they don't understand the seriousness of what is happening; others, older, live with extreme fear that the aggressor will show up at their house. This can lead to a polarization: either a total rejection of the game ("I never want to play again"), or continued participation, because they want to obtain objects and are trapped in the cybercrime.

When there is greater awareness, the psychological impact can be devastating: "The aggressor often extorts the victim by demanding more content or threatening to distribute the material to their social circle. This plunges the child into a state of fear and anxiety, marked by a deep sense of guilt. Often, the child's isolation can signal to the family that something is wrong. Other warning signs, according to experts, include a complete rejection of the device or a constant need to have it; a search for privacy—they no longer play on the sofa, but in more private spaces; or baseline changes: problems with sleep, eating, or regression, and irritability and nervousness when asked to stop playing. Never erase the evidence

And what should you do if you detect a suspicious conversation? "The important thing is not to delete it. Often that's the first reaction, but without evidence—conversations, profiles, images—we can't investigate. Without that 'ground zero,' it's impossible to follow the thread, and there's no burden of proof for the judge," warn the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). The guideline is clear: don't delete it, talk to the child to get their account, and file a report immediately. In cases of child sexual exploitation, the Cybercrime Unit states that they have always received a good response from Roblox. "It's a committed company; they are diligent, they respond to requests, and they have internal parental control mechanisms that not all platforms offer. Furthermore, when the perpetrator is abroad, international cooperation mechanisms such as Interpol are activated." A responsibility still pending

However, the platform remains surrounded by controversy. This February, Australia placed Roblox on notice, alarmed by reports of grooming and explicit sexual content, and the European Union is investigating whether it violates the Digital Services Act (DSA) as it is accused of using manipulative interfaces to retain children and of failing to protect them from violent content.

For Montiel, it is important that the platforms take their share of responsibility. "When you design an environment that is unsafe, where there are children and you know there are also predators, you have a proactive responsibility. We need much stricter legislation: if a platform cannot guarantee the safety of minors, perhaps it shouldn't be allowed to operate or it should face such high financial penalties that it's more cost-effective for it to invest in security than to pay for it." "They make a lot of money, and the social and psychological cost is paid by families and victims."

For her part, Carmen López defends the need to set clear limits: "Establishing reasoned, sensible, and healthy limits or prohibiting what is harmful is our responsibility. It's not about taking away freedom, it's an act of love."