It has been officially announced by Roblox that they will be supporting online dating. The game will be expanding to include new platforms that aid in forging real-life relationships. However, this announcement has been met with criticism. Here’s everything you should know.
What is Roblox?
Roblox is a massive platform that runs on user-generated content. It is a behemoth in the gaming industry, bringing in over 50 million active users daily. This huge player base is possible thanks to its accessibility. It is available across mobile devices like smartphones, PCs, and even consoles. The platform is free to play but offers various microtransactions for cosmetics in-game. Here, you can expect to find role-playing servers, shooter servers, and much more.
Why is the Online Dating move so controversial?
Roblox’s plans to officially support online dating have garnered backlash online. Many feel that Roblox is not the best choice to include internet dating. Due to the fact that a vast number of players are minors, this also raises concerns since the platform has been used to groom children in the past. Another controversial aspect of the announcement was allowing 17-year-olds to participate. Other online dating platforms do not allow anyone under the age of 18 to sign up, so this is also lower than the industry average.
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David Baszuckim, the CEO of Roblox, stated, “Thousands of adults will meet for the first time in Roblox dating experiences and subsequently form real-life relationships.” However, this raises the question of adults possibly bumping into someone who is a high schooler. Netizens have also expressed concerns about the platform’s ability to moderate such a service. The move will come with a verification process to access an account that features such services, which will have users upload a legal form of ID and a selfie. This should make it harder for minors to stumble onto the dating service, but the effectiveness of this system is still unclear.
