Roblox invites its community to build mature experiences for 17+ users
- On Tuesday, Roblox announced that it would allow creators to build mature content designed for users aged 17 and up.
- To use these features, Roblox users will have to pass an age verification process that requires a government ID and a live selfie.
- These experiences for older users will contain more intense violence, romance, crude humour, depictions of gambling and virtual alcohol.
- Roblox Chief Product Officer Manuel Bronstein believes the changes could lead to new growth in content genres that aren’t usually associated with Roblox, like user-created shooting and horror games.
- Bronstein said the change was designed to keep Roblox interesting to young users as they grow older.
- Users can start creating these games straight away.
- Check out our Roblox Online Safety Shareable, ‘All about Roblox’.
- For more, please visit the Tech Crunch website.
Some subreddits are now filled with porn to protest Reddit
- More than 8,000 subreddits went dark last week to protest the company’s API pricing changes and now thousands have reopened.
- Some subreddits have classified themselves as not safe for work (NSFW) to protest Reddit’s recent treatment of the platform’s volunteer moderators.
- As a result, some non-porn communities are starting to receive a lot of pornographic content.
- Users must agree to being 18 years old before viewing subreddits labelled NSFW and on mobile, users must be logged into the app to view this content.
- Subreddits do not have to contain porn to be considered NSFW, they could contain “nudity, pornography, or profanity”.
- Check out our Reddit Online Safety Shareable, ‘All about Reddit’.
- For more, please visit the Verge website.
Eating disorder cases soar since COVID with ‘wealthier teenage girls’ more likely to be diagnosed
- New research has found that eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia were 42% higher than would be expected of teenage girls aged 13-16.
- These disorders were 32% higher for those aged 17-19.
- The number of cases of self-harm was 38% higher than expected among girls aged 13-16.
- The research was carried out by the University of Manchester, Keele University, University of Exeter and mental health research charity The McPin Foundation.
- These findings were backed up by data from eating disorder charity, Beat which said it had seen a 300% increase in calls to its helpline during the pandemic.
- The charity raised concerns over inequitable access to care, with children from wealthier backgrounds more likely to be diagnosed.
- For more, please visit the Sky News website.
4,000 vulnerable children in NI on the waiting list to be seen by a social worker
- The NI Review of Children’s Social Care Services has found more than 4,000 children are estimated to be on the waiting list for assessment and help from social services.
- There are a reported 1,832 cases waiting to be allocated a social worker, but this number is believed to be considerably higher.
- The report makes 53 recommendations, focussing on pressures facing the system and the crisis in staff recruitment and retention.
- Further recommendations from the report include warning against the privatisation of children’s care and calls for the appointment of a Minster of Children and Families.
- To learn more, please visit the Belfast Telegraph’s website.
