A 12-year-old from British Columbia is suing Roblox, claiming the platform uses gameplay features that are addictive, manipulative, and financially exploitative.

British Columbia

A family in British Columbia has initiated a class-action lawsuit against Roblox, alleging that the online gaming platform is intentionally designed to be addictive for children. The lawsuit claims the child began using Roblox at a young age and soon exhibited signs of addiction, though these allegations have not been proven in court.

The case follows similar legal actions against other gaming companies and has prompted discussion among experts about the responsibility of both game developers and parents. Experts note that while some game features may encourage prolonged play, parental supervision and setting limits are also crucial in managing children's gaming habits.

12-year-old from B.C. sues Roblox over 'addictive' gameplay

Roblox, the online gaming platform, has become the latest of these sites to face a lawsuit in Canada. A class-action lawsuit is being brought by the family of a 12-year-old in B.C. who alleges the platform was designed to addict children. The suit says the plaintiff started playing on the platform at about five or six years old and began showing signs of addiction shortly after. None of these allegations have been proven in court. The suit comes after similar lawsuits were filed against Electronic Arts and the makers of Fortnite. Our next guest is part of a World Health Organization task force looking at video gaming. Jeffrey Derevensky is also a professor emeritus of educational and counseling psychology at McGill University. And Jeffrey, were you surprised to hear about this lawsuit against Roblox? Yeah, this is not unusual. I think there's a real concern, especially amongst parents whose children are playing Roblox, that these youngsters are addicted and have difficulty turning the games off in order to socialize with their family members or to perform well in school. So, I don't know Roblox. My kids are full-grown adults. Tell us what it is about that particular game that is so addictive for young people. Well, I think it's similar to other games in the sense that young people enjoy the graphics that are involved or that they can see within the game. And there are many, many different games that you can actually play. You can play these games by yourself or you can play with friends and peers or people you don't even know across the country. And so, what is it about these games that go from being something you like past the threshold to being something that maybe you're obsessed with to actually being something that young people are addicted to? How do you know when you get to that stage, addiction? I think when it becomes difficult to stop in spite of any of the negative consequences that you're facing. For example, parents will often say to children, you can play the game after your schoolwork is completed. But young people will want to play the game and then persist in that and then experience academic failure. It's important to note that for many young children, especially individuals who are having difficulty in school, this is a relief. These games can be very entertaining, very rewarding because they can become very good at them. Yeah, and the other thing I understand about this game is that you are part of a community, that you're connecting or have the option to connect with other gamers that hopefully are young people, but maybe not, who are all over the world. So there's always somebody there to play with. Now, there's some people listening to this, I'll bet, who will say, what about individual responsibility or, since these are kids, parental responsibility? So let me put the question to you this way. How come, you know, in what way is it legitimate to place the responsibility on the makers of the games? I think it's a combination of both. I think some of these games are designed to encourage young people to continuously play through microtransactions. They're also buying things on these games. But I do believe that primarily it's a parent's responsibility. As a parent of a young child, we always talk about setting limits. Setting limits is not the difficult part. It's maintaining those limits that becomes the difficult part. And so young children will try to press and go forward as more and more games that they can engage in. And it's never enough for some young people. What we really need to do is start early and set limits on the amount of time young people can play these games. And the second thing I would argue is that parents should be watching what they're playing, because it's not only Roblox, but there are other games online that are also potentially problematic. All right. Really good advice, Jeffrey Derevensky, Professor Emeritus of Educational and Counseling Psychology at McGill University. Thank you very much.

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