Roblox - the update - Think RR

See what we found in our September investigation here:
think.revealingreality.co.uk/roblox-updated

Roblox to block children from talking to adult strangers after string of lawsuits Gaming platform to use facial age estimation to limit chats to similar age groups, as allegations of grooming grow

We're pleased to see Roblox is now implementing age verification to combat this.

As before, we'll test these new measures once they go live.

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...

We've been highlighting the issue of children interacting freely with adults on Roblox since April.

Our investigation of Roblox's new safety features in September revealed the problem persisted.

Roblox - the update - Think RR

See the findings from our September investigation here:

think.revealingreality.co.uk/roblox-updated

Roblox - the update - Think RR

For the past year we've used child avatars to experience Roblox as a child would - pre and post the introduction of new safety features.

Read our article to learn more.

Four months on: is Roblox any safer?

think.revealingreality.co.uk/roblox-updated

My chilling week on Roblox: sexually assaulted and shat on as a child avatar roaming the online world In seven days my young alter ego is cyberbullied and attacked while exploring clubs, casinos and horror games, all with parental controls in place. Is the platform safe for children – or an ‘X-rated p...

"My avatar is cyberbullied, aggressively killed, sexually assaulted and shat on - all with parental control settings in place".

The experience of Australian reporter, Sarah Martin, comes as no surprise to us.

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...

The value of childhood The commercialisation of children's play and entertainment on data-driven platforms

In a new guest post on the Ada blog, @revealingreality.bsky.social looks at the commercialisation of childhood through play and entertainment platforms over the last decade — from influencer sponsorship to product placement and in-app stores.

www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/blog/the-val...

Would you let your child use a social media platform where one in twenty children reported seeing content encouraging suicide within the past week?

Suicide, self-harm, depression and eating disorders: what children encounter online in a week - Revealing Reality At Revealing Reality, we explore what life online looks like through children’s eyes – talking to them, analysing their social media feeds, and stepping into their digital worlds through avatars. And ...

@mollyroseorg.bsky.social commissioned us to investigate children's online exposure to harmful content.

revealingreality.co.uk/suicide-self...

AI Britain - Think RR

Egg monsters. Multiplying kittens. Too many fingers. AI-generated content was surreal & instantly recognisable as artificial.

It's moved on.

Now it's creating caricatures of Britain: our towns, our politics, our divisions.

This is AI Britain: think.revealingreality.co.uk/ai-britain

But our advice to parents is this: don’t rely on platform promises or research reports to decide if Roblox is right for your child. Create your own account; it only takes a few minutes. Spend time on there. Listen to the conversations. Then make your own informed decision.

We welcome the progress – Roblox appears to have made genuine improvements in blocking the most inappropriate content from young users. However, the core issue remains: adults and children can still interact without meaningful separation.

Roblox - the update — Think RR

4 months ago, our investigation into Roblox revealed adults & children mixing freely, with sexually explicit content easily accessible to young users. Roblox has since rolled out a number of updates. We’ve returned to the platform to explore the changes: think.revealingreality.co.uk/roblox-updated

How data shapes children’s digital lives   - Revealing Reality Much is said about what children do and watch online.   We’ve had the privilege of spending years observing children’s online experiences – watching digital trends come and go – short-lived fads, smar...

Children’s Data Lives, commissioned by @infocommission.bsky.social, is now in its second year. It tracks a cohort of children to uncover how their experiences are shaped by data-driven digital design and what this means for their evolving relationship with data:

Why don't you? — Think RR

"I could be going out with my friends but I'm stuck in my room watching TikTok"

But what happens when children give up their smartphone? That's what 32 children did at Ecclesfield School. Follow the link below to watch our short film and find out more.

think.revealingreality.co.uk/why-dont-you

Does a school smartphone ban make a difference? How did pupils and staff at a secondary school get on without smartphones in a three-week trial?

When Ecclesfield School approached us about their trial of 32 pupils giving up their smartphones entirely for 3-weeks, we jumped at the chance to visit and find out more - documenting the experiences of the children, parents and teachers involved on film: think.revealingreality.co.uk/why-dont-you/

Children's Media Lives: Wave 11 — Think RR

This marks the 11th wave of our longitudinal study for
@ofcom.bsky.social, where we track the evolving landscape of children’s media lives, and the continued blurring of boundaries between the online and offline. We've made a summary of the report's key findings: think.revealingreality.co.uk/cml11

Woman's Hour - Supreme Court Judgement, Roblox, Novelist Stephanie Yeboah, Singer/songwriter Georgia Crandon - BBC Sounds Joshua Rozenburg on the Supreme Court's judgement on the legal definition of a woman.

Our latest deep dive into Roblox has uncovered key child safety gaps. Associate Director
@hannahestcourt.bsky.social explained our findings today on BBC Woman's Hour (starts 11min50seconds)

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Our exploration into Roblox shows that despite recent updates to safety measures, simple workarounds remain - allowing for contact details to be shared and interactions between children and adults to be taken off-platform.

Our exploration into Roblox revealed that experience descriptions can mislead, and maturity labels don't always align with content, potentially exposing children to adult themes. Our 10-year-old avatar witnessed the following:

Think RR

This research can be best understood in the context of our wider work which you can access here: think.revealingreality.co.uk/digital-insi...

Roblox — Think RR

If you are a parent and your child is playing on Roblox, take a look at our guide that explains some of the risks on the platform and where the safety features fall short. You might be shocked by the things we’ve found: think.revealingreality.co.uk/roblox-real-...

Roblox — Think RR

You can read our full guide to Roblox here:
think.revealingreality.co.uk/roblox-real-...

Would you let your 5-year-old chat to a 42-year-old stranger in the real world? The Guardian has shared our latest research showing how children and adults can freely interact on Roblox, one of the most popular virtual playgrounds for children:

Our recent work on ASMR has been shared in this month's edition of More than Robots - a great source of up to date research and info on how tech is impacting people's lives.

ASMR - Chapter 1 — Think RR

Read our interactive report to find out more:

think.revealingreality.co.uk/asmr-page1

Demystify the workplace for anxious Gen Z Unhappy and jobless young people need work experience and careers advice if they are to escape the benefits trap

Alice Thomson, writing for The Times on our recent ASMR research, describes ASMR videos as ‘visual and aural pacifiers’ for anxious young people.

www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

Think RR

@theguardian.com shared our latest research this weekend, with Emma Beddington brilliantly capturing the value of embodied experiences in an increasingly digital world. Explore our wider digital culture research here: think.revealingreality.co.uk

Many young people find safety in the soothing world of ASMR – imagine if we could give them that in the real world | Emma Beddington ASMR videos can mimic the feeling of physical touch, which a study has found is popular with young consumers. But how many intimate gestures of love, care and connection are they missing out on, asks ...

"We all get calm and comfort from different things ... but we’re creatures who need physical connection; we’re mammals, primates". www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

What are the implications of allowing adults and children mix freely on Roblox, the hugely popular gaming platform? Watch our film to see what we found: