Comments

22 responses to “An Unexpected Audience: How Roblox utilizes social games and Discord to expand its audience beyond children.”

1. 

   Zayon

   29/04/2025

   Nice read! Good insight

   1. 

      ttly soul

      06/06/2025

      Hi Zayon,

      Thank you for your comment!

2. 

   Maxim Lullfitz

   30/04/2025

   Hi ttly soul,

   This essay was an eye-opening regarding some of the risks of having children participate within the Roblox community which includes adult rated games as well as the potential for groomers and predators. I have played Roblox myself on the mobile app recently for the first time, on the mini-games such as Doors which is genuinely quite hair-raising.

   Regarding the potential for online bullying, do you have any ideas about how Roblox could implement any more safeguards for minors, or do you think by opening the game up to adult audiences that this is simply a reality of the platform and parents need to be the ones to protect their children online?

   Thanks for your informative approach to this conversation, it gives me a few things to think on. By the way, I love your use of images and videos throughout this web page. It breaks up the text and makes it very engaging to read!

   Kind regards,
   Max

   1. 

      ttly soul

      06/06/2025

      Disclaimer: Explicit language, visuals

      Hi Maxim,

      First of all, I had some trouble recovering my account—a bit of a mishap on my part!
      In my honest opinion, Roblox is no longer a viable choice as a children’s game. This is due not only to the nature of user-generated content but also the lack of parental awareness of how the platform works today. My paper only scratches the surface of how much Roblox has evolved over the decade.

      Parental Responsibility & Security
      While Roblox provides options to disable chat (which limits third-party interaction), I’ve seen firsthand how easily kids can bypass these settings. Friends of mine have younger siblings who asked their parents to remove the age restrictions—often without understanding the risks. As such, I can imagine parents helping their children get the user age verification by giving them their identity cards. This raises not only ethical concerns but puts children in a vulnerable position quite instantly once they’re on the restricted contents and this is entirely the parents’ faults.

      Marketplace Issues
      Previously, only Roblox and selected developers could publish avatar items. Now, anyone can. This change has led to the appearance of clothing assets like this and that —items that would have been restricted before. If you’d dive into the 2D clothing, a lot would use modded clothes that displayed derogatory words and, in a few cases, shirts created by pedophiles saying inappropriate things about children. It is an awful thing that has happened to this platform. I bring this up to illuminate how inappropriate this troublesome audience could be, and no matter how much Roblox could moderate, there would be creative ways that users will exploit the features Roblox creates for their personal interest. Here’s another example, viewer discretion is advised.

      Images: https://imgur.com/a/debating-communities-ttly-soul-unexpected-audience-how-roblox-utilizes-social-games-discord-to-expand-its-audience-beyond-children-JTPwoEH

      It would be nice if Roblox could devise an alternative choice to safeguarding kids, like how YouTube has approached this issue by having ‘Roblox Kids’ and ‘Roblox’ for a general audience. What do you think?

      Online Bullying
      While online bullying is not a major case in the Roblox community, as Roblox is not much of a social media platform where users can be stuck to one individual or group, users can choose to cut off their friends quite simply, blocking or report. Users can also choose to ‘add friend’ a player or leave the game and never see the same person/s anymore.

      Further Exploration
      If you’re still interested in the topic, I recommend looking into the issue of condo games, a disturbing aspect of Roblox’s dark side. This documentary gives a good overview (first few minutes serve as a summary). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaqwpkMKMYI&t=761s
      Also, since you mentioned Doors, I want to introduce you to ‘Twenty-One‘!

      While horror games are common for all ages, how about gore-filled poker game for kids? again, marks how twisted this gaming platform can be for the younger audience.

      Thanks again for your comment, Maxim.

      Cheers

      -Effie, also known as ttly soul

3. 

   CarolineNagajek

   01/05/2025

   Hi ttly soul!

   This essay was fun to read and eye-opening to how Roblox had influenced the creation of both safe and unsafe communities. I never knew Roblox had grown to have so many different features within the game now. This made me think about the issue of young children faking their ages to access older content, do you think there will be a solution to this issue?

   I noticed you brought up the issue of anonymity when discussing the prevalence of grooming behaviours. If you would like to read more about anonymity and pseudonymity, feel free to read my paper (name: The ‘FAKE’ Human Race: Rise of the Pseudonymous Army) and let me know if you agree with my point of view!

   Thank you for providing an enjoyable read! It was very engaging.

   1. 

      ttly soul

      06/06/2025

      Hi CarolineNagajek,

      Thank you so much for reading my paper. I’ve also read yours and really enjoyed your take on online anonymity. I can’t completely agree with the whole point of removing pseudonymity and having one singular identity in social media. I want to explain why.

      Before that, sorry it took me a while to reply to your comment, as I’ve had trouble logging back into my account. Maybe I should have stuck to using my real name instead of an alias (lol)

      Using pseudonyms as the birth of persona
      My tag ‘ttly soul’ is actually my handle on both Discord and Roblox. I’ve actually dedicated this paper to all my online friends I’ve met online – and some I’ve met since 2018 – we have shared wonderful memories together and even met face to face for a whole day outing. It is common to have online friends in today’s age and find out your peers could be a thousand kilometres away but have the exact same interests as you.

      However, I had never been comfortable sharing this fact with my family because they worried about my safety and my personal information being leaked to strangers online. They also do not agree with my personality as a whole – having an interest in anime, movies, discord networking, etc. but who are they to dictate, really? So, I’ve created a whole online persona that I use in social media to hide myself and all my interests from the reach of my families and relatives. I don’t want them to know that I still enjoy my hobbies and still love ‘games’ that they are against. Obviously, they are very traditional, and have upper-class backgrounds; they value things like status and appearances, which makes it hard for me to express myself around them. So, I created an online persona to enjoy my hobbies freely without judgment. It’s my way of staying connected to what I love, even if I have to hide it offline.

      Pseudonymous Army or Pseudonymous bullies?
      As for bullying and trolling, I’d like to believe I can hardly comment on anyone’s post because I believe it is the property of others. I have no right to say negatively about what someone values and believes, so I could never relate to being a full-time hater on some influencer I’ve never met personally. I thoroughly enjoy learning about other people’s lives, and I would even consider such other cultures if convinced. So far, I’ve never experienced having this much freedom through anonymity and would feel like I should abuse it to hurt others.

      Faking age to access online content and a hybrid solution
      I’ve been faking my age online since I was younger, as well. I grew up during the rise of the internet and have felt like the internet is my home ever since (No worries, I do love being on grass – and enjoy going out as much as I love being on screen).

      To answer your question: I believe there needs to be a balance. We should have some form of identity verification to ensure people are accessing age-appropriate content but also allow the use of aliases so people can choose when and how to share personal details. I’m personally a strong believer that the internet as a collective network is never meant for kids – it exposes people to a lot, sometimes too much, and don’t you agree that bullying is an act of immaturity? To children, social media can be dangerous, its shocking, it’s disappointing and like you said, the reality is gross. So, I think a hybrid solution is best.

      Thank you again for your thoughtful feedback and for sharing your paper. It helped me reflect on some of the reasons why I value the online spaces I’m part of.

      Cheers

      – Effie, also known as ttly soul

4. 

   20515539

   02/05/2025

   Have to echo the above commenter I found your use of images and videos in this great! I liked your drilling down on to something as specific as Roblox and explaining the complexity of the pre-existing networks was really useful in terms of explaining the topic.

   1. 

      ttly soul

      06/06/2025

      Hi 20515539,

      Thank you for your comment!

      I thoroughly enjoy writing this post and visualising my content. I recommend checking my reply to Maxim Lullfitz, as I have inserted an image presentation on why I believe Roblox content moderation is no longer viable because people use creative ways to bypass moderation constantly (Image viewing discretion is advised). The best way forward, from my observation, is to separate the audience by introducing Roblox and Roblox kids, just like YouTube did. I would appreciate your opinion on this.

5. 

   Justin

   05/05/2025

   Hi ttly soul,
   You’ve covered a lot of topics here from audience demographics, discord integration, game and platform evolution and safety. Your suggestion that while Roblox continues to position itself as a family gaming platform, its evolution to the older demographics has created opportunities but also challenges that need some form of oversight. This oversight is emphasised in the Tenenbaum article which talks about the lawsuit against Roblox and Discord who are accused of not doing enough to protect young people from predators – in this particular case a 13-year-old boy who was targeted by a 27-year-old man who met him on Roblox and convinced him to send explicit content via Discord in exchange for gift cards to purchase Robux. Much food for thought – thankyou.

   1. 

      ttly soul

      06/06/2025

      Hi Justin,

      Thank you for your comment!

      Yes, I also briefly explored the underground community of ‘condo games’, which is a series of games created with the sole purpose of being an adult-rated erotic roleplay accessible to children. Although it is harder to reach this deep of the iceberg, it poses the problem of online predators targeting children to join these games and even inviting them outside Roblox. Another case would be this, where a 27-year-old adult Roblox player had been arrested for kidnapping a 10-year-old girl met on the game platform. Roblox’s gaming platform scale has been too big for specific moderation, which could have prevented this. I hope my paper clears the message that parents should know about the danger of exposing their children to a multi-age platform that everyone thought was once ‘only for children’ and ‘safe.’

      Reference

      KCAL News. (2025, April 19). California girl kidnapped after meeting man on Roblox. Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9lIGM0-p0k
      ‌

6. 

   Timothy Ho

   07/05/2025

   Hello ttly soul!

   Your paper is a very fascinating to read about. I especially love the part where you explain how despite Roblox being a sandbox video game is aimed towards young children as their primary demographic, the game expands to adult-rated content and social games for older audiences to join in and participate together integrating with Discord servers created by adults with no moderation protection features, leading to inappropriate grooming behaviours resulting in acts of predatory towards younger children within the Roblox community.

   Thanks for the informative essay! It was an eye-opener

   1. 

      ttly soul

      06/06/2025

      Hello Timothy,

      Thank you for your comment! Yes. I wrote this paper to share the awareness about the negative consequences of the audience shift. Please take a look at my reply to Maxim’s comment; I have emphasized some challenges Roblox moderation regularly faces. If you are a parent or know anybody around you with kids playing Roblox, let them know that these issues are more common than they anticipate, and extra caution should be taken for the safety of children.

      Cheers

      Effie

7. 

   Lyam Temple

   08/05/2025

   Hey ttly soul,

   Really fascinating paper! I loved how you dug into Roblox’s shift toward older users, it’s not something that gets talked about much, but it totally makes sense. And your points about platforms like Discord were spot on, there’s so much potential for creativity and community there, but also some pretty serious risks. It definitely connected with some of the stuff I was exploring in my own work around youth, identity, and how these spaces often aren’t really designed with child protection in mind.

   If you get a chance, I’d really love to hear your thoughts on my paper too:
   https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2025/ioa/5712/growing-up-online-social-medias-failure-to-protect-underage-users/

   Lyam

   1. 

      ttly soul

      06/06/2025

      Hi Lyam Temple

      First of all, I’m Sorry it took me a while to reply to your comment. As your paper is about Social Media’s failure to protect underage users, I understand how it can correlate to my topic. Your points are interesting, especially when you mention how big corporations do not design their services with children’s safety in mind. In this case, Roblox, being known as originally a children’s sandbox game, not being designed with children in mind, would be very ironic. It is noted that Roblox does spend an effort on protecting children, and it is as if they had understood the shift of their audience could affect their original intended audience, as displayed by the new additional age verification process and introducing game ratings, as well as default content censorship to third party content. However, the issues regarding identity in Roblox would be less serious given that Roblox is not a social media platform like Instagram or TikTok. Children ‘have the choice’ of what they interact with within the platform – it is their choice to select which games to join, enter, and even leave whenever they want. The gaming platform also does not have any posting features, disabling like counts or comments on their profile, just biography intended for the display of their avatars, favourite games list and friends list. Roblox also has strict censoring features that disallow any Roblox players to mention words like ‘TikTok’, ‘Instagram’ and ‘Discord’ (not limited to) to minimize interaction regarding other social media and shift the audience to the said platform.

8. 

   jess

   08/05/2025

   This report provides an extremely detailed look into Roblox’s audience’s evolution outside its core demographic, as well as the platform’s dual growth. I was particularly interested in the research of Discord’s integration with Roblox communities, and how it improves collaboration among older users while also raising reasonable worries about safety issues for younger players.

   One point that stood out was the discussion about “condo games” and the lack of proper moderation in Discord-based communities. It begs a larger question: should platforms like Roblox accept more responsibility for off-platform conduct when such groups are expressly linked to their games?

   Furthermore, the use of Guilded as a case study was illuminating, particularly in comparing its moderation practices to Roblox’s primary message system.

   1. 

      ttly soul

      06/06/2025

      Hi Jess,

      Sorry for the delayed response.

      I am glad you found the topic interesting and presented a great question: should platforms like Roblox accept more responsibility for off-platform conduct when such groups are expressly linked to their games?

      Roblox should be responsible. Note that before they allowed the integration of discord links on their website, Roblox would not have had this big of an audience if they had avoided doing so. As discussed in this paper, many communities rely on third-party apps to continue their communication outside of their games, so Discord was part of a profitable asset for Roblox and its consumers. Otherwise, it would have reduced the blame on Roblox themselves. From now on, they can start encouraging players and game developers to switch from Discord to Guilded (given that it’s possible but might be a bit difficult) and update their moderation on their already-owned social platform – guilded.

      According to this developer forum, somebody mentioned that only accounts who verified themselves could access the Discord links integrated into games. However, I have discussed that underage users could bypass age verification given the support from parents or guardians. Even though it is the responsibility of parents – Roblox could prevent restricted access to third-party apps by never integrating them in the first place and providing a more secure alternative.

      Your question helps clarify that the negative consequences of the audience shift could have been prevented if they had used a better alternative. Thank you so much for the comment.

      Cheers

9. 

   Xavier Hans Anak Henry Apex

   10/05/2025

   Hello ttly soul,

   This is the most comprehensive conference paper I have read so far, with the arguments provided being clear through the way you incorporated detailed elaborations, accompanied by videos and figures, which helped me to grasp the context effectively.

   The section that captured my attention was how the implementation of Discord into Roblox communities displays threats and dangers among children, as Discord lacks a protection mechanism for them. Throughout my years with Roblox, I always thought the platform only catered to teenagers under 18. There was a time my friend used a curse word in the chatbox, but it was automatically censored, and he was banned for one year, which led me to conclude that the platform is “child-friendly”. But I was surprised to know that Roblox is not so child-friendly right after reviewing your paper, especially how children are drawn to getting Robux by engaging with predators, which is disturbing.

   Additionally, I liked how you explained how communities from diverse age groups on Discord come together and contribute their efforts in game project collaborations, which exemplify the platform’s message, which is to bring everyone to create and play games together.

   Overall, I think this is the greatest paper I have read so far, where most of the elaboration aligns with the arguments you presented within it.

   1. 

      ttly soul

      06/06/2025

      Hi Xavier,

      Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. I appreciate your review of my paper. That is an interesting point you brought up. Roblox is very strict with word restrictions used in the platform, where even the simplest word like “dumb” can be censored to ‘####’. However, there are countless ways to bypass the security filter system that Roblox has implemented.

      A common technique Roblox users have used is to change the words to something similar in sound. Take the word ‘Discord’ for example; it is filtered and blocked by Roblox to prevent children from reaching outside the platform, especially with the guidance of strangers. Therefore, users will spell out ‘Discard’ or ‘Disco’ to bypass the filter system. Fortunately, These bypasses do not usually work because the Roblox moderation system is getting better at recognizing these bypasses. However, foul language in other languages, for example, Spanish or Malay, or even in Chinese characters, could not be detected by Roblox (As per my observation). Therefore, it is worth noting that Roblox has not implemented consistent restrictions across different languages.

      A ban may not be as helpful as we anticipate, as there are some records where troublesome players could access Roblox simply by making new accounts. According to Kramer (2024), even proxies can bypass IP bans. This, I believe, only further escalated the rates of troll accounts.

      Thanks for taking the time to comment on my paper; it helped me reflect on some security measures Roblox has had and its limitations.

      Cheers

      Effie

      Reference

      Kramer, M. (2024, November 4). Roblox IP Bans: And How to Protect Yourself – netnut.io. NetNut. https://netnut.io/roblox-ip-bans-and-how-to-protect-yourself/#:~:text=The%20length%20of%20a%20Roblox,especially%20for%20more%20serious%20violations.

10. 

    Elijah Ethan

    11/05/2025

    Hi ttly soul,

    This is one of the most interesting papers I’ve read on here! I like how you organized it with Table of Contents, and what made this paper quite engaging for me is how you used screenshots and YouTube videos to illustrate your points. As for the points you’ve made on your paper, they are particularly insightful on how Roblox has evolved into something that extends beyond its youthful audience, which allows realistic games that are miles away from Roblox’s cartoonish graphics, and it also allows roleplays such as “Pablo’s Group” that can encourage learning about professional work. It truly shows how Roblox can be used to its full creative potential to create particularly engaging games and roleplays. However, I do agree that integrating Discord into Roblox communities can put a risk on minors, because like you said, Discord is one of the online platforms that has problematic issues regarding grooming minors due to its emphasis on anonymity.

    Do you think there are any ways that Roblox can take to protect its users, especially minors from predatory individuals and inappropriate content?

    1. 

       ttly soul

       06/06/2025

       Hi Elijah,

       Thanks for your comment! I’m glad the visualisation sparked interest. Funny enough, I wouldn’t have written about Roblox without discovering it through Discord. Have you ever tried the platform? Roblox was created for children; over time, they’ve added protections to limit harmful interactions. That’s likely why new accounts for users under 13 now have restricted content by default. This restriction blocks younger users from seeing moderately rated games with gore, violence, or alcohol. These changes likely came as Roblox saw an increase in older users. As noted in the paper, Roblox uses age ratings, limits chat and links for underage users, and applies strong word filters to protect children on the platform.

       Though, I see there are more moderation features they should implement than what they already have. Avatar customisation also needs stricter moderation. Lately, there’s been a rise in inappropriate clothing items being sold on the marketplace, visible to all age groups. It’s concerning—and some creators profit from it. I shared more on this in my comment to Maxim Lullfitz (viewer discretion advised). In my view, Roblox’s efforts were decent at first, but many users now bypass the system. To prevent grooming and other threats, stronger moderation and clearer guidelines are needed—even for minor things (Again, I have listed some of those bypasses in a comment to Maxim).

       Roblox’s growth was helped by Discord, which boosted engagement and promotion. But now they’ve acquired their platform, Guilded, which works like Discord. Moving users there could reduce anonymity, often where bad behaviour starts. As Roblox allows social media integration for communities to expand their audience – Roblox could encourage the use of ‘Guilded’ (though moving one community to a whole new platform could be difficult, it is still possible)

       I hope Roblox is taking these issues seriously. Many creators have raised concerns, and disturbing communities—like cults and predator groups—have been uncovered through Discord-Roblox networks. As a leading kids’ platform, Roblox sets the standard for safety, but it hasn’t been satisfactory. I no longer see it as a safe space for children and wouldn’t recommend it for anyone underage. With so much influence shared through games and social features, the risks are real. Hopefully, none of the danger poses too late to the point it has affected our own loved ones.

       Cheers

       Effie

11. 

    Shannon Kate

    11/05/2025

    I think this paper captures well the movement of Roblox from just a sandbox game for kids to the sophisticated tool it is today.

    That said, my 16 year old son plays Roblox regularly and always has a discord server open while playing to talk to friends also playing. I will copy Elijah Ethan’s question – Do you think there are any ways that Roblox can take to protect its users, especially minors from predatory individuals and inappropriate content? and add my own – Or is it just too hard to police such things these days?

    1. 

       ttly soul

       06/06/2025

       Hi Shannon Kate,

       You’re right to ask; it is incredibly difficult to police these issues today. Predatory behaviour isn’t exclusive to Roblox; it’s present across many multiplayer platforms like Valorant, GTA V, Fortnite, and League of Legends. The challenge lies in how hard it is to separate young users from older ones in open social spaces.

       Personally, I wouldn’t recommend Roblox to young children in its current state. At the same time, the platform has made efforts like default chat restrictions for under-13 accounts, age-rated games, and strict word filters. These systems can easily be bypassed, especially if a parent unknowingly verifies their child’s age. One lapse in judgment can open the door to real dangers.

       Feel free to read my response to Maxim Lullfitz, where I discuss how inappropriate content has made its way into the Roblox marketplace and is visible to young users. Viewer discretion is advised, as the topic involves sensitive content.

       There have already been disturbing cases, including one where a 10-year-old girl was encouraged to meet a 27-year-old man in person she met in Roblox. These incidents show how vulnerable children can be online and how critical it is for parents to stay informed and cautious. (KCAL News, 2025) – This news is from 1 month ago!

       Roblox does have the financial means to do more. They need a real shift in priorities – from profit to safety. That means hiring a stronger moderation team, enforcing clearer guidelines, and building systems that a single unchecked action can’t easily undo.

       I hope this answers your question. Thank you for taking the time to comment on my paper.

       Cheers

       -Effie, also known as ttly soul

       Reference

       KCAL News. (2025, April 19). California girl kidnapped after meeting man on Roblox. Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9lIGM0-p0k