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Roblox: More children say they've seen worrying content or suffered abuse
- Author, Hayley Hassall
- Role, C鶹Լ Newsround
Roblox is the most popular online computer game in the UK for under-13s, according to a recent survey.
It's free to use and it's a platform that lets you play millions of different games, or you can build your own game and let other people play it.
It's played by more than 25 million children worldwide and many schools and institutions use it to teach children how to build games online.
But I've been looking into a worrying rise in the number of children finding upsetting and harmful content on the site.
Image source, Peter Dazeley
The NSPCC and Childline told me that since the pandemic, the number of children calling their helpline with concerns about Roblox has increased five-fold.
And the number of children needing help and support from a trained counsellor has doubled.
These are some of the things children have said:
On Roblox anyone can make a game and that means that not all the games are nice, friendly or safe.
It also means that anyone in the world can play with you online and those people aren't always your friends.
I went to visit some children at a primary school in Essex who told me that although they love playing the game they often see inappropriate stuff.
They also say they've been scammed, which means they've lost money in the game.
Here's what they told me:
Childline have told me that the increase in children being upset or harmed on Roblox could be down to more children playing the games since the pandemic.
But it also means that children are seeing more content that is upsetting them.
Hannah, from Childline, says that if you do see something that worries you on Roblox then tell an adult or a friend you trust, and you can also call Childline to get advice about what you are experiencing.
But unfortunately these safety measures doesn't stop all the harmful content from being on the platform in the first place.
And with new games being made every day it's very difficult for Roblox to check everything.
Childline want the government to make stronger rules for internet sites so that they aren't able to put bad content on sites for children.
But until that happens there is a risk that you could see content that is unsafe.
