One Year Later, What Has Roblox's Teen Council Accomplished?
It makes sense to chat with one of Roblox's biggest player groups, but it's just not clear what's actually changing.
There is probably no demographic more crucial to what Roblox hopes to accomplish in the next few years than teenagers. It’s easy to understand why young children get hooked on Roblox, because it’s where their friends are during a socially influential age.
Becoming a teenager is when change kicks in. You rebel. Habits shift. A time to put away childish things yada yada yada. But more importantly, if you ditch Roblox when you’re a teenager, what’s the likelihood that you’ll come back to Roblox as an adult?
Roblox’s ambitious plan is to remain relevant from child to adult.
Back in 2024, Roblox announced what it called its “Teen Council.” Per a press release:
“The Teen Council will collaborate with Roblox’s internal teams, offering its perspectives on platform features, policies, and resources. Council members will gain valuable skills in communication, critical thinking, and community building while developing a deeper understanding of online civility. Roblox will empower council members to become leaders in online safety and to champion digital well-being among other teens.”
Around the same time, Roblox’s VP of civility and partnerships Tami Bhaumik told Crossplay the purpose of the Roblox Teen Council was for kids to share “their insights on new features and policies so that we can make our product relevant to their needs.”
A new feature Roblox rolled out this year as part of a slate of new safety and parental control features was, strangely, the ability for teens to self-regulate screen time hours.
I expressed some (I think understandable!) skepticism at the time about this:
“It seems fine—good, even—for users to get reports and insight into how they’re using Roblox. But one of the funnier additions the ability for a teenager to set a screen time limit on how much they’re using Roblox. Maybe I haven’t met enough teens, but how many teenagers do you know are going to set a screen time limit for themselves?
Okay, so it’s been a year since the Teen Council was formed. What’s happened?
I had a chance to ask Bhaumik a few (brief) questions about what’s happened on the council since 2024, though truth be told, I didn’t come away with many answers. In theory, it’s nice the Teen Council exists, but so far I’m left wondering to what end.
In any case, here’s my brief exchange with Bhaumik (over email) about the council:
Can you point to specific changes made to Roblox policy as a result of the previous Teen Council?
Tami Bhaumik: Our Teen Council members actively participated in numerous projects and workshops throughout their tenure, including providing valuable input on our community guidelines. These young leaders also contributed insights on parental controls, avatar features, and safety resources, while developing mental health awareness content and public service announcements for our community.Roblox has remained under intense scrutiny and implemented a number of changes regarding content and safety for all ages, including teens. How often does personal safety come up while engaging with the Teen Council?
Bhaumik: Teen Council members regularly provided their insights and valuable feedback from a teenage user’s perspective. Our Council represents our proactive approach to teen safety, where members provide ongoing input on things such as well-being tools and parental controls for both teens and parents, as well as our overall approach to keep all users safe on Roblox.Teens tend to prefer fewer restrictions, not more restrictions. How do you engage with that tension with the Teen Council?
Bhaumik: What we’ve introduced to teens ages 13 and up has helped to cultivate positive digital habits. Features such as online status controls, do not disturb mode, spending limits, and screen-time insights help empower young people to curate and navigate their online presence with confidence.Can you provide any insight into the gender and age makeup of the Teen Council?
Bhaumik: We don’t break out demographics, but we are proud to have a diverse group of Council members ranging from 14-17 years old from [different] states.
Like I said, not much to go on. What, exactly, is a Roblox “project” and “workshop?” What are Roblox-playing teenagers saying that’s different than younger audiences? Does Roblox find itself in tension with what the audience wants and what it wants? Should they be more pro-active with restrictions instead of letting players decide?
I doubt any kids on the Roblox Teen Council read Crossplay, but if you do, please reach out. I’d love to know more about what’s actually happening in these chats.
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Also:
I haven’t had a chance to fully report this out, but Dress to Impress’ community manager resigned in scandal recently. That such events can occur is a sign of how big some games have become and the traditional pressures that come with it.
I’m curious how Fortnite changes the Roblox dynamic in the house. But my five-year-old can’t hack Fortnite and my nine-year-old’s friends aren’t playing it (yet).
If you’re a parent with a teen who plays Roblox, please reach out. I still don’t fully understand the dynamics of how Roblox scales with kids as they get older.
They couldn't come up with ONE thing that the Teen Council did this year? They didn't dress up ONE initiative with a fancy name and credit it to the Teen Council, whether they actually helped or not?
It's clear that it's just a figurehead oversight board that they can point to, just to say they have one, even though it has no power and is never consulted whatsoever. I hope the members can get a good college rec letter and some resume padding out of it, at least.