Concerned observers in Bohol are raising alarms over what they describe as a growing Roblox addiction among children, warning that heavy exposure to the popular online gaming platform is fueling aggressive language and behavioral problems among the youth.
Observers say children as young as 7 are spending early morning hours playing Roblox on their mobile phones and gadgets instead of preparing for school.
More troubling, they said, is the apparent behavioral spillover — with children picking up vulgar and inappropriate language from the game.
“That child I saw was so alarming — playing Roblox and cursing, and whatever they see in the game seems to be carried over into their behavior,” one observer told a local media outlet.
Concerned citizens are appealing to parents to tighten monitoring of children’s screen time and provide stricter guidance to shield the youth from the negative influences of online gaming.
The concerns echo a national debate.
The Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality has launched an investigation into Roblox over alarming reports that the platform is being used to expose minors to violence, radicalism and alleged Satanism.
During a Senate hearing, lawmakers warned Roblox officials that the platform faces an outright ban in the Philippines if it fails to protect children from bad actors exploiting its chat features and interactive environment to groom minors and radicalize them toward violent ideologies.
The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) disclosed that it had foiled plans to attack schools after discovering that some youths had been radicalized and recruited through gamer chats on the platform.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros and other lawmakers called on the Roblox Corporation to implement mandatory age verification protocols and stricter safety defaults to combat the rising threat of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) and online extremism.
Roblox faces a government shutdown in the Philippines if it fails to halt the spread of dangerous content on its platform, lawmakers warned.