Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse • Hacker News Board

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#191

Post by hedora » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:46 PM UTC

foota wrote: post #158

It's interesting to me to think about a possible system where people in say roblox can only chat with each other by exchanging physical keys somehow. This way, they would be able to chat with their peers from school etc., without the danger or need for as much supervision. I don't necessarily think this is technologically feasible or something that would be accepted, but I think it's an interesting idea.

This would be trivial to implement well. Give the parents a console where they can paste in usernames. Most classes already have parents whatsapp groups or similar, so it’s easy enough to broadcast the usernames, or create a shared google doc.

Console access could also be required to create new accounts. The article says it is currently trivial for kids to just create an adult account and bypass all the parental controls.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#192

Post by pixl97 » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:46 PM UTC

wartywhoa23 wrote: post #126

watwut wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We played tag at building sites, jumping gaps meter wide and five deep, made explosives out of match sticks As someone who thinks kids should have freedom, like kids in Germany or Japan have, I hate it when ridiculous arguments like these show up. Look, if you was regularly doing all that, you probably should not have all that freedom. But, most kids are actually more reasonable, if raised right.

What problem with me as I am now would you solve if you had any power to prevent me from being a kid and doing pretty common things kids were doing then ? See, neither me nor any of my friends became terrorist bombers, heck, there is not even a single stuntman around us! On the contrary, that unimaginably dangerous activity in our childhood raised responsibility in us better than any supervision. We knew what we did.…

Cool, stop everyone else from being a nanny then. You pull the stuff you and I did as kids in most places now and you'll have the police and CPS show up.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#193

Post by worldsavior » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:46 PM UTC

coryrc wrote: post #68

worldsavior wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully? Why don't you just forbid him to play Fortnite? Sounds like your son doesn't listen to you, and that's a problem.

Schools are the problem. Hear me out. Schools group together only one age of kid for socialization and only 20-30 of them. If your kid is not into the same thing as enough of the other kids in that group, they will likely be ostracized, even unintentionally. So you must let your kid do the things their friends do. Broader society does not restrict the age of who you can socialize with. My friends vary in age quite a…

If the all class plays Fortnite and that is the only way they get socialized, his parents should consider moving him to another school. Many kids don't play this kind of stuff and actually prefer hanging out.

This kind of approach is also invalid. So what everyone plays Fortnite? There are many places to get socialized with other kids. The kid likes basketball? Sign him up to a basketball team; he likes to play music? Sign him to some band; etc. Kids shouldn't surrender to peer pressure.

I agree schools are also a problem, but not the main problem.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#194

Post by stego-tech » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:46 PM UTC

> Over and over again, we have seen leaders in Baszucki's position choose growth over guardrails. Safety features come out years after the need for them is identified, if at all. Internal critics are sidelined, laid off, or managed out. And when journalists ask, politely but insistently, why so many of their users are suffering, executives laugh and tell us that we're the crazy ones.

Definitely the larger vibe in tech at the moment. Safety is overwhelmingly not a priority, anywhere, to any leader, no matter how loudly specific proponents scream that "ahkshually, it is."

Thing is, I taste the Kool-Aid each company offers. From tiny businesses to a household name SV enterprise, I give each the benefit of the doubt that this time, they're doing things right. This time, they're taking safety seriously. This time, they care about their employees. I really, truly, sincerely tried giving them all the benefit of the doubt that they see things I don't.

After this past forced career change, I finally gave up that exercise in futility. Actions speak infinitely louder than words, and taking stock of the actions of these people reveal their true intentions every time: as much money as possible for them, fuck everyone else.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#195

Post by pixl97 » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:48 PM UTC

thinkingtoilet wrote: post #177

worldsavior wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully? Why don't you just forbid him to play Fortnite? Sounds like your son doesn't listen to you, and that's a problem.

People are downvoting this but it's the correct response. I will never worry about Roblox because my child will never be able to play it at home. Problem solved. I understand that maybe non-technical people might not know to think about these things, but in this crowd this response should be the most upvoted. These things are poinsons. Don't feed your children poison. It's pretty simple. "They'll be left out!" Good!…

They'll still play it with their friends at school.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#196

Post by dwattttt » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:49 PM UTC

wartywhoa23 wrote: post #162

foobarian wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> made explosives out of match sticks, bolts and nuts I used to do similar crazy things, had this friend who liked to play a kind of a game of chicken with an M-80, see who will hold on to it the longest. He would've been 45 years old today. /s

My elder brother would've been 47 this year should he not die aged 2 of sudden acute disease that doctors of that day and place couldn't stop. What's your point?

That "things were better in the old days, all this safety culture is pointless" overlooks the tragedies we became inured to back in those days?

I cannot count the number of times I've heard "we never bothered with that" with things like refrigerating leftovers, and its unspoken rider of "and it was fine" is never followed up with "look how foodborne illnesses are rising, or at least not dropping". Very curious.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#197

Post by pixl97 » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:51 PM UTC

whyenot wrote: post #142

d_sem wrote: post #108

I think the primary issue is that there is massive demand for adolescent social interaction in a world that is increasingly physically isolating for kids. Demographic shifts make suburban families too sparse to support children friend groups. Denser cities are increasingly financially impossible for families to move in.

I suspect that helicopter parenting is a much larger contributor than physical isolation. We have had sparse suburbs in the US since at least the 1950s, and generations of kids grew up in that environment and did just fine.

1950s was the baby boom so is not a great example. Children per adult has been falling ever since and suburban areas growing.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#198

Post by foobarian » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:56 PM UTC

y-c-o-m-b wrote: post #171

foobarian wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity how did they manage to sign up for Instagram? Browser? Asking for a friend

Ah great question, I wondered this myself as there was no phone involved here (in our household) and Instagram has been banned on my network for many years. It was from a friend's phone at school and that same friend later provided my child with an old galaxy tab to bring home, which was cleverly hidden under the carpet beneath the bed with wifi access to our neighbor's internet (provided by neighbor's kid as well).…

Wow. Honestly if it weren't for the bad stuff I would be secretly proud of a kid like that.

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#199

Post by bdangubic » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:56 PM UTC

watwut wrote: post #104

massysett wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I let my kid play Roblox for a couple of weeks and I was absolutely horrified by all the inducements to seek Robux. So I removed it from her iPad, which is locked down. She gets along just fine without Roblox.

Roblox is popular precisely because majority of kids play it for free without buying Robux.

nothing is free… :)

Re: Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse

#200

Post by recursive » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:58 PM UTC

prophesi wrote: post #132

recursive wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's wrong with paid mods?

Not OP, but for me I'm wary whenever I see in-game currency (Minecoins). Thankfully there are no gambling mechanics tied in to Minecoins directly, but the server ecosystem is still rampant with gambling just the same[0]. [0] https://feedback.minecraft.net/hc/en-us/community/posts/3600...

I agree regarding in-game currency. I find it distasteful. But in my mind, paid mods are a different thing that can exist independently. I don't find those distasteful. I find their existence slightly positive.