‘Depression rooms’ and ‘sociopath chats’ – do you really know where your kids go on Roblox?

‘I hate myself. I don’t want to be here any more…’

Tucked away in the immensely popular online game Roblox, you’ll find heartbreaking messages like this from children across the globe, who have come to visit one of the site’s specially created ‘depression room’.

Although Roblox is targeted at children aged 13+, in reality, is often played by far younger and older people.

As of August 2020, it had over 164 million monthly active users, including more than half of all American children under 16 – and the majority of games allow children to enjoy any niche interest through the safe space which is the anonymous internet. 

Want to ride the London Underground network? Sure, there’s a map for that.

Fancy creating your own airline? Yep – you can even ‘hire’ for a managing director and ground crew.

However, behind the fun maps and team-based activities is a selection of darker games.

If you search ‘depressed’ on Google, you’re automatically shown organisations like Mind, the NHS and the Mayo Clinic.

For children searching the same word on Roblox, a far different result appears.

*Warning: Potentially distressing content and mentions of suicide and self-harm.*

Instead, a selection of ‘sad’ games are laid out on a plate for the user to choose from.

Some are more on the melancholy side, such as a grassy field where it’s raining with soft music in the background.

However, others include gravestones and the option for a player’s character to ‘cry’ or ‘weep’. 

Then there’s the game where your avatar can sit down in a basement with a ladder and pile of boxes in the darkness.

Called the ‘depression room’, there’s even a sign above the door confirming this. Your character automatically bows their head once they’re sat in the seat.

From that room you can take a lift to the top of a skyscraper where your character stands by the railings – looking out over the word ‘Alone’ in blue on an opposing building.

The game has had 5.6 million visits and is advertised as ‘for all ages’.

It also directs users to a group chat called ‘sociopath’ where a number of young people are clearly making great efforts to help each other.

However, among the messages of supports, others are far more disturbing.

One reads: ‘Jan 2, 2023: I need to kill somebody and break there spine.’ [sic]

As users stumble on their spelling and their messages are clunky, it’s a devastating reminder that those making these shocking statements are just children.

As they hunch over a laptop or tablet, they are desperately seeking answers from a game that once brought them joy – but also now encourages despondency.

‘Pain engolfs [sic] my body’, one user writes. Others asked for advice on self-harm.

Referring to themselves as a ‘big family’ they often wish each other well before they exit the game – a reflection perhaps of the comfort they feel here, which they find unachievable in real life.

Parents don’t realise the ‘scale’ of what children can access on the game, one father tells Metro.co.uk.

The 47-year-old dad now limits what his 10-year-old son plays.

Henry, not his real name, only realised what his son Murray* was doing when he took the iPad out of his hands at their home near Birmingham.

He’d urged his son to switch to doing his homework after the boy had spent hours in his online world instead.

Henry says he had seen that Murray had been playing in the most popular sad room available, in the ‘basement’ area where the character sits on a solitary chair in a dark room.

‘We were already worried he was spending too much time on Roblox,’ Henry explains.

‘I’d been really shocked and genuinely kind of scared on his behalf when I saw that he was playing the sad room.

‘I’d taken the iPad off him and even in couple seconds of looking at the screen I knew something was off.

‘Literally my heart just sank when I saw it as the visuals was just something you just don’t associate with a kids game.’

Although he spoke to his son about the game and its distressing contents, Henry admits that he can’t help but worry that his little boy was ‘existing’ in the game and not fully in real-life.

‘My son had said some of his online friends on the game had showed him it so it is definitely popular with kids,’ he explains.

‘I’m not sure if he realised how serious it was. We make sure to ask him directly how he’s doing and really I don’t know if I’m convinced he went because his online friend was or if he did seek it out.’

Internet charities have also urged parents to sit down with their children to talk over what they are accessing – and if it is appropriate.

While explicit games do exist on Roblox, they are fortunately in the minority.

Ghislaine Bombusa, head of digital at Internet Matters, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘Many parents may struggle to understand the concept of Roblox and can be confused about how their children are involved, so it’s important that if your child is playing it, then you get a good understanding.

‘With any games that are mainly played online, there are risks attached.

‘Yet due to the popularity of Roblox there are many rumours, fake scare stories, and incorrect advice rife on social media that demonises the game.

‘However, it’s possible for children to play it safely as long as they have the right amount of supervision and understanding from a parent.

‘First, parents need to be sure the content their child is engaging with on Roblox is age appropriate.

‘If you make sure your child’s age is entered into the platform, Roblox will filter the games being created for inappropriate images and profanity. There are no age restrictions, but for example, nine-year-olds will not be allowed to see content designed for older children.’

Although Roblox’s filtration system, Community Sift, censors and removes most inappropriate messages and content, some can still avoid the system.

To combat these issues, the company has 1,600 people working to remove such content from the platform

Metro.co.uk went to Roblox with the above screenshots and video from the most popular ‘depression room’ on offer.

A spokesperson responded that content or behaviour that depicts or encourages suicide or self-injury is not allowed on the game.

The spokesperson added: ‘We use a combination of human and machine detection to conduct a safety review of every piece of content that is published on the Roblox platform, including all images, video, and audio files, and our chat filters are designed to detect language that may indicate an attempt to violate our standards.

‘We also recognise that Roblox is an important platform for self-expression and, for many, a space where they can express their true feelings and find empathy and support from others in the community.’

Roblox continues to review its moderation systems and community standards, the spokesperson concluded.

However, this isn’t the first time Roblox has come under fire.

While it boasts many popular and educational games and enjoys positive reviews from critics, it’s also faced backlash for its moderation and microtransactions.

The BBC also investigated a ‘sex problem’ found in the game.

The investigation raised concerns as to how frequently children and adults could be playing explicit games together.

‘We know there is an extremely small subset of users who deliberately try to break the rules,’ a Roblox spokesperson had told the BBC at the time.

‘We have zero tolerance for sexual content or behaviour of any kind, and we take swift action against anyone found to be acting in breach of our Community Standards.’

Henry tells Metro.co.uk that he now limits what is son Murray does on Roblox and has urged other parents to do the same.

‘We need to monitor what our kids are doing and to be honest I wish I’d checked on my son more,’ he says.

‘I think a lot of us don’t realise the scale of what you can do on these games and Roblox should get that too and take more steps to protect the kids really.

‘Kids are spilling their guts to these online friends and in these “sad rooms” but it’s not helping the kids talk about their problems in real life – and it’s only going to get worse unless something gets done.’

*Name has been changed

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