The tall shadows that fall on digital playgrounds

It is perhaps easy for the casual observer to dismiss the recent scrutiny of the popular gaming platform,Roblox, by several countries in West Asia as yet another inevitable clash between largely conservative regulators and global tech. But doing so would mean being unmindful of the unease simmering beneath tapered headlines unaccommodative of the larger context. That is, what happens when childrens play spaces are built, run, and occupied by strangers online? Readers may recall that India, too, has had its own dance with digital bans in the recent past. In 2020, the Union government pulled the plug on PUBG Mobile, a popular mobile game at the time. The move was instigated in part by data concerns linked to the games Chinese publisher, Tencent, amid escalating tensions on the Indo-Chinese border. Giving it also moral ballast was a growing public outcry over teenagers becoming increasingly glued to their screens, some skipping school and even falling sick after marathon sessions on the game. Another game, Garena Free Fire, too met a similar fate for largely the same reasons two years later. But thisRobloxscenario is unlike these episodes. This time, the anxiety is not about or limited to data concerns or addiction. It also encompasses child safety. But before we delve any further, its prudent to unpack exactly whatRobloxis and why it differs from traditional gaming platforms. Readers who are already clued in may skip the box below. Well, it is not a game in the traditional sense. It is a platform hosting millions of user-generated games. In it, you will find blocky obstacle courses, elaborate fantasy towns, and even digital concerts. For children, it is equal parts toy box, playground, and social club. So, what isRoblox? For all its perceived boons, the game has one fatal flaw. Given how it is set up,Robloxs playgrounds (experiences, as the developers would like to call them) are also hunting grounds for predators. These stories travelled fast and confirmed suspicions that a platform built for children was also a corridor to exploitation. So this recent crackdown ofRobloxin West Asia may not be groundless. Indeed, if you factor in even more context, the move makes a lot of sense. You see, in the larger Gulf, blistering heat, car-centric cities, and conservative norms means children spend more time indoors. Thus, screens become their playground, says Neena Emil, a corporate trainer working in Bahrain. 1) In the US, lawsuits have accusedRobloxof failing to prevent grooming. In one case, a 10-year-old girl was allegedly lured with offers of free Robux, the platforms in-game currency, in exchange for explicit photos. 2) Another case involved an abduction that began, officials say, with an in-game chat. Roblox in the news: Perhaps taking cognisance of this, the governments here which already boasts the political will and regulatory muscle, and are used to acting decisively simply pulled the plug. Qatar and Kuwait bannedRobloxoutright, and Saudi Arabia, the UAE and more recently, Bahrain, forced chat restrictions for the game. Parents in India are watching these developments closely. Ammu Charles, for instance, blockedRobloxon YouTube Kids even before the platform started to make headlines for the wrong reasons. My kids were hooked on theRobloxslang in these videos, and used to mimic everything. But the language is inappropriate for kids. So, I blocked it, she says. For Sarika Jeevan, another parent,Robloxwas less about slang and more about obsession. My son only got on because his friends were spread all over the city, and this platform was how they bonded. At first it seemed harmless; grow garden had him planting crops and selling produce. But soon, the game overshadowed everything, she says. A server upgrade mattered more than watching the sunset on a holiday. Feeding virtual pets took precedence over our real ones. The only way I could cope was by turning his account into a child account and using safety apps to set limits, Sarika adds. Teachers are seeing the fallout too. Sajitha Binu Benjamin, a parentteacher, observes the same. She says, Kids often get addicted, losing all sense of space and time, and become aggressive when asked to stop playing. In many homes, where both parents are working, devices are given to stay connected with children. Without proper parental control, kids end up playing endlessly, she adds. Neena recounts an incident that happened with her son. One day I found him chatting with a much older girl. I monitor their interactions, but I know not every parent can. The risks are high if kids are not watched closely, she says. Shailaja Menon, another teacher, however, is not quick to dismiss games altogether. In fact, she sees them as vehicles that spark creativity. But often, she explains, they drift into violence or horror. So, maybe a ban on negative games makes sense, and like tobacco warnings, a timer nudging kids to log off would help. India has not reached the point of banningRoblox. But the ingredients are here: a booming smartphone market, cheap data, and minimal oversight. Parents often scrutinise WhatsApp groups and Instagram feeds, and social discussions about gaming addiction are common. But the idea of games as nefarious platforms, where grooming or trafficking would occur, remains understudied. With a median age of 28, Indias population skews young and over 440 million of them play games online, making the country one of the top markets for any developer. In the case ofRoblox, while it is difficult to pin down the exact number of players it has from India, the country registered a significant 58 per cent year-over-year increase in daily active users in the first quarter of last year. The platform already boasts 35.6 million daily active users in the second quarter of 2025, with India contributing greatly to this growth. The India story. Experts warn the gaps are real. Radha Radhakrishnan, former vice president (marketing and communications) of Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship, says, India is home to over 500 million gamers, but child-safety rules are patchy at best. Weak age checks and no parental consent mean kids face real risks from predators and manipulative design. Regulators need to toughen up, Radha says, but points out that platforms, too, have a duty. Educate families, provide real parental controls, and verify before you amplify, she adds. PR guru and digital maven Dilip Cherian adds a sharper note of caution. I doubtRobloxs US leadership loses sleep over Indian anxieties. Yet here, low parental literacy, gender inequalities, and regulators tendency for sudden bans make the stakes different, he highlights. West Asias temporary bans show the direction things are heading, Dilip points out, adding, Indias fast-growing user base will eventually face the same scrutiny. Global platforms rarely adapt their practices for local realities, but without that, child safety here remains compromised. But the argument stretches beyondRoblox, doesnt it? Children use Discord to game and do homework, drift through Reddit threads for fandoms and advice. What they are truly seeking in all this digital maze is, above all else, companionship. Communities where they can carve out identity and make sense of the world. 1. Parents can open conversations rather than just impose controls. Trust makes it easier for children to report when something feels off, says Neena. 2. Teachers can integrate digital literacy into classrooms, teaching how to spot scams or manipulative behaviour. 3. Developers, however, have the most work. They have to build safer defaults, robust age verification in their games, and more transparency in moderation. So, what can be done? There is no one template to follow in this scenario. Not for teachers, parents or developers. Each must do their part, in their respective domains. Because whether itsRoblox, Discord, or the next platform still to arrive, the reality is clear: for todays children, the playground is already online. The task is to ensure it remains a place of creativity and friendship, not exploitation. And that falls on all of us.