Growing Up In A Digital Playground: Kids, Gaming, And Consequences

Everyone knows Roblox, right? That fun, creative kids game that stimulates their creativity while also giving them a good time. The last thing you would expect from children playing games is for one of them to end up getting stabbed! Well that is exactly what happened in Batu Pahat, Johor recently. A nine-year-old boy stabbed his younger brother aged six, allegedly over the game.

According to Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad, the boy reacted to his brother causing him to lose about one million accumulated Roblox points (Robux) by damaging the older boy’s phone. The question is: How could a tantrum over a video game result in a kid stabbing another kid?

What Even Is Roblox?

If you haven’t already heard, Roblox is essentially an online platform that allows users to create their own digital worlds and games, sharing them with other users, and acting as a social space. To be more specific, it is more of a digital playground rather than a video game. Making your own video game out of it is just one of its many functions.

If you are wondering how popular Roblox is, the answer is: immensely popular. In Malaysia alone, Roblox currently has over one million users — with over 100 million users worldwide. Not only that, a 2024 report highlights that younger players on Roblox spent on average about 139 minutes/day on the platform, highest among popular games/apps for children.

There is a very good reason for this too. Roblox as a platform is actually an excellent outlet for creativity, social interaction, and digital skills. When working as intended, it can be an amazing tool to foster a child’s growth. So why do so  many people have concerns over it?

Real Concerns Or Scapegoating?

A key question worth asking is whether Roblox is genuinely dangerous for children, or whether it has simply become the latest scapegoat in a long history of parents blaming new media for society’s problems. Throughout modern history, nearly every emerging medium has faced its own cycle of moral panic. Television was accused of rotting young minds, comic books were blamed for delinquency, heavy metal and MTV were called corrupting influences, and video games have been scrutinised for decades. Roblox may just be the newest addition to that list.

Parents’ fears, however, are not entirely unjustified. Research into the effects of media on children has been ongoing for years, and many studies suggest that media can influence behaviour — particularly when exposure is intensive or unsupervised. But critically, media is just one variable. A child’s mental health, home environment, and quality of relationships play an equally or even more significant role. One consistent finding is that children with stable, supportive upbringings tend to be far less affected by violent or inappropriate media, though no protective factor is ever foolproof.

Very Real Concerns

Still, even with its creative benefits, Roblox faces real and well-documented safety issues, especially given its overwhelmingly young user base. According to reporting by The Guardian, research shared with the publication found that Roblox’s parental control tools are often insufficient at filtering out harmful content.

Despite updates and improved moderation efforts, loopholes persist. It remains relatively easy to register an account with a falsified age, and adults can still masquerade as children within the platform. Because of these gaps, Roblox continues to carry a somewhat negative reputation among parents globally. Inadequate controls mean children can still encounter inappropriate material, be exposed to predatory behaviour, or fall into patterns of excessive play that border on addiction.

These concerns resonate strongly in Malaysia. Police-recorded cases involving children and online or unregulated digital abuse have risen in recent years, pointing to a broader vulnerability among young Malaysians navigating digital spaces. In such an environment, platforms like Roblox — popular yet imperfectly regulated — naturally draw heightened scrutiny.

What Is Roblox’s Response

Roblox has publicly committed to strengthening safety on its platform, including for Malaysian users. The company says it now relies on a mix of AI-driven moderation and human reviewers to screen chat, images, voice, and user-generated content. According to Roblox, most harmful content is automatically blocked or removed quickly, with human moderators handling more complex cases.

As mentioned previously, the company has also expanded age-verification tools, introducing facial age-estimation and optional ID checks to limit communication between adults and children. This aligns with requirements being considered by Malaysian regulators, including age-verification and licensing for games deemed unsuitable for under the age of 16. 

Roblox also says it is cooperating with authorities worldwide — including Malaysia’s MCMC — by sharing data on serious safety threats and supporting investigations related to child protection.

However, gaps remain. Investigations have found that despite stronger parental controls, loopholes still allow kids to access inappropriate content or for adults to pose as children. Moderation can also be inconsistent due to the sheer volume of user-generated games and chats.

Drawing A Line In The Sand

In the end, Roblox is neither a guaranteed danger nor a guaranteed safe space. It’s a digital tool with tremendous potential and equally real risks. Much like every new medium before it, from television to social networks, the platform exists on a slippery slope where limitless creativity and connection sit right beside content and interactions that children may not be ready for. The challenge is not simply deciding whether Roblox is “good” or “bad,” but understanding where to draw the line in a world where kids have unprecedented access to digital spaces.

What the evidence shows is that media alone rarely determines a child’s behaviour. Upbringing, mental health, and the environment they grow up in play a major role. Influences come from everywhere — peers, family, online communities, and the broader culture they’re immersed in. Roblox is just one part of that ecosystem.

For parents, this means taking an active role rather than relying solely on the platform’s safeguards. Practical steps can make a meaningful difference: setting screen-time limits, monitoring gameplay, using available parental controls, and most importantly, building digital literacy and open communication at home. Children who feel supported, and who understand how to navigate online spaces, are far better equipped to handle risks when they appear.

Instead of blaming the platform outright, ongoing discussion is key. As technology evolves and digital childhood becomes the norm, platforms, parents, regulators, and communities should unite toward the same goal: creating a safer, more enriching digital world. Together, we have the chance to make the online space a better place for the human race — especially for our children, who deserve to learn, create, and play without unnecessary risk.