Roblox is an online game that has captivated Gen Z and Gen Alpha by storm, with an average of 380 million users every month. If you don’t know what Roblox is, it’s an online platform that launched to the public on September 1, 2006, where users can engage in virtual experiences. These experiences are created by both the users and the developers of the game. However, Roblox is no longer just a game — it’s also a place where people can date and fall in love.
The concept of Roblox e-dating was announced at the Roblox Developers Conference by Roblox CEO David Baszucki. However, it is not yet available to the public, and there is no confirmed date for when it will be accessible to the public. The purpose of this feature is to address the loneliness epidemic in Gen Z. It will be available for ID-verified users aged 21 and older, allowing them to go on virtual dates that could potentially lead to real-life relationships. While this may protect minors, what about users who are older? Will this actually help with the loneliness epidemic, or could it bring more risks to the users of the platform?
73% of Gen Z report feeling alone and isolated. A study done by “The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community” in 2023 showed that loneliness can be as damaging to your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. If the math is correct, if you smoke 15 cigarettes a day, you could lose 7 years of your life. The CEO of Roblox is hoping to solve the loneliness epidemic, but is also trying to make real-life connections. Using Roblox, a game that 48% of Gen Z play, where the loneliness epidemic hits the hardest, is an honest marketing genius. Will he actually be successful in his hopes to help with the loneliness epidemic?
I spoke to Don Burdette, who is one of our Social Science teachers, to get his opinion on it. For those who might not know what the loneliness epidemic is, here is a better definition from Burdette: “A lack of community and other issues that can exacerbate this loneliness and problems connecting with others, with peers.” Then I asked him if there were any potential mental health dangers. He responded, citing insight on what Roblox e-dating could do to harm mental health: “A video game system does not establish significant intimate relationships, kind of takes advantage of their loneliness.” To answer my question, no, Roblox could not establish a good lasting relationship. Screens are a big reason that the loneliness epidemic is as big as it is, so they would still be communicating through a screen, so how could this even help?
Not only is mental health at risk with the potential dangers of Roblox e-dating, but physical abuse is also a risk. There are constant lawsuits against Roblox for incidents of sexual abuse, and this has become routine for news stations to report on. Unfortunately, this could turn into a paradise for predators, giving them access to millions of potential victims without requiring them to reveal much, if any, personal information. Catfishing is using fake information or photos of yourself to deceive others to get personal benefits for yourself. 27% of online daters are catfished often by people using photos of themselves. In the case of e-dating on Roblox, users will likely be using their avatars, which, unsurprisingly, do not show how they actually look in real life. This makes catfishing much easier, creating opportunities for predators to harm future victims. So why would Roblox make its users vulnerable to potential abuse? They would rather get a cash grab than protect future victims of abuse.
With all this information about potential harm, physically and emotionally, is this an actual good idea? No. You may like to play on Roblox, but finding love is a risk to your safety. As Burdette says, it takes advantage of your loneliness, making you hope you will find love when you could actually be putting yourself in danger. The company is truly trying to make a profit by giving you false hope and by putting its customers in danger. Burdette put it perfectly by saying, “It’s always done with profitability in mind and public relations in mind. And so corporations do a lot of beautiful, wonderful things, but I think what Roblox is doing is not a beautiful, wonderful thing.”
