In the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, an unexpected virtual movement has taken shape on the popular gaming platform Roblox.
Kids and young users are participating in pro-Palestine protests within the virtual world of Roblox, with one such protest garnering over 275,000 visits.
Kids Wave Palestine Flags in Roblox Protest Area
Users within the Roblox world have been virtually marching on brick streets adorned with Palestinian flags and signs reading "Solidarity Untukmu Palestine."
is it this one😠pic.twitter.com/7yGQvA26Qo
— Sushi ✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🎧✮ (@sushislurpee) October 24, 2023
According to CNBC, this is a Malay phrase, which translates to "Solidarity for Palestine," reflecting the global outpouring of support for Palestine, with Malaysia being a particularly active participant in the pro-Palestine movement.
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The Influence of Reality
You might be wondering if these kids are just riding the virtual protests. It turns out that they might have been influenced by a real-world phenomenon. It's possible that they might have seen Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim calling out Israel's bombing in Gaza.
Who's Participating?
Roblox's demographic is primarily young, with approximately 45% of users aged 12 or younger and 60% aged 16 or younger, according to data from December 2022. Only 17% of users are 25 or older, emphasizing the youthful nature of the platform.
Social media comments suggest that many parents are aware of their children's involvement in these virtual protests.
Amid the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, some Jewish and Israeli schools are encouraging parents to remove social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram from their children's devices. They believe that this would prevent kids from seeing the violence splattered all over the internet.
Roblox Sees the Trend Among Young Users
Roblox confirmed that the virtual protest existed on its platform, and CNBC verified its popularity with over 275,000 visits. However, it's essential to note that this count includes multiple visits by a single user. Attendees at the virtual protest could choose to raise a Palestinian flag, a Malaysian flag, or no flag at all.
While the virtual protests did not appear alarming for Robloxians, the team made sure that sensitive words will be censored to avoid much trouble including "Free Palestine," "Jews," and "Hamas."
It's quite bizarre to know that "Jews" is censored but the word "Jewish" is not. Roblox only said that moderating the content on the platform will help them decrease the engagement of political topics among young gamers.
"I remember that people were holding solidarity events on Minecraft, or on Club Penguin before it shut down, and I heard about people holding demonstrations on Animal Crossing. So, using these platforms... it doesn't surprise you, but it's still bringing this unexpected feeling of joy when people use whatever avenue they have to show solidarity for any movement - for Black Lives Matter, for Palestine, for justice for anyone who needs justice," 23-year-old X user Salsabeel told TechCrunch.
