By KAITLYN HUAMANI<\/p>\n
Roblox<\/a>, the online gaming platform wildly popular with children and teenagers<\/a>, is the \u201cultimate virtual universe\u201d where users can \u201cbe anything you can imagine,\u201d according to the platform\u2019s website. Recently, some young users have been imagining themselves as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.<\/p>\n Some users have donned ICE gear and carried out \u201craids\u201d on a popular roleplaying game within Roblox. Other young people on the platform have taken to the virtual streets with signs in their avatar\u2019s hands in protest, expressing sentiments like \u201cWe hate ICE\u201d (all signs are free of expletives, of course, which are banned on Roblox).<\/p>\n A TikTok account sharing videos of such raid reenactments<\/a> and protests has racked up millions of views in recent weeks. Much of the gameplay involving raids appears to be taking place on a private server within the Brookhaven roleplaying game, which is one of Roblox\u2019s most popular and widely played games.<\/p>\n Protests against ICE and immigration raid reenactments within the vast world of Roblox are not new. Video clips of such behavior on the gaming platform cropped up on social media last summer when \u201cNo Kings\u201d protests<\/a> were being held across the country, largely in response to increased immigration enforcement. But the resurgence of such content on social media and within the game suggests young people are responding to the government\u2019s immigration operation<\/a> in Minnesota and the strong resistance<\/a> they\u2019ve been met with by protesters.<\/p>\n This behavior, particularly the digital protests, could be a healthy way for children and teens to cope with news they\u2019re seeing about immigration enforcement, according to Giovanni Ramos, an assistant professor of clinical science at the University of California, Berkeley. But roleplaying the raids could be more worrisome \u2014 and they go against Roblox\u2019s own rules.<\/p>\n A Roblox spokesperson said Friday that the reenactments of immigration raids are in violation of the platform\u2019s community standards and said the company takes \u201cswift action against users found to be violating\u201d those policies. The user guidelines state that Roblox prohibits content that \u201crecreates specific real-world sensitive events, mocks the victims of such events, supports, glorifies, or promotes the perpetrators or outcome of such events or capitalizes on these events for commercial purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n Roblox uses a multi-layered approach in enforcing community standards, with a combination of human moderators, user reports and advanced AI models. The company encouraged users in its statement to report any behavior or content that goes against our community standards so it can \u201cinvestigate and take immediate action.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo system is perfect, but we work to strengthen our user protections every day,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Ramos said these virtual raid reenactments could \u201cminimize the emotional impact that immigrant youth are experiencing by being exposed to this chronic stressor,\u201d and they may be invalidating the emotions of kids who are especially impacted if the raids are seen as fodder for jokes.<\/p>\n Still, he thinks in many cases, those taking on the role of immigration officers on the platform and carrying out raids could just be doing so out of curiosity. \u201cIt could be youth exploring what they\u2019re seeing in the news or what they hear adults talking about at home and trying to make sense of those experiences,\u201d Ramos said.<\/p>\n The protests and demonstrations on Roblox could also be a way children are seeking out social support, Ramos added. They are \u201ccreating community and connecting with people who actually are going through similar things, who might understand their emotional experiences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That kind of connection is valuable and shouldn\u2019t be dismissed, Ramos said. \u201cThat can really be a lifeline.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t