With an array of games that kids create on its platform, Roblox also has a big following: 35% of 5-to-12s and 21% of 13- to 17-year-olds in Morning Consult’s polling. In the Dubit survey, Roblox peaked among the 8-to-10s, at 30% penetration. The highly social aspect of Roblox has augmented its popularity during the pandemic. “Kids have been having birthday parties on Roblox,” Kleeman said.

In a May survey by Roblox among 13-to-18s who followed the gaming platform on Twitter, 44% said they “get more screen time because my parents don’t care as much.” NortonLifeLock’s polling found 5-to-17s averaging an extra 1.5 hours of screen time a day on school days, not counting usage for school.

And children have flocked in droves to games like “Roblox,” which saw a 55% increase in time spent in Q2 over Q1 in the US, according to App Annie. In July 2020, Roblox Corp. said its platform had reached 150 million worldwide monthly active users, up from 115 million in February. We forecast that mobile gaming will also gain minutes as a result of the pandemic.

Roblox. The Diffusion Group. Triton Digital. US Census Bureau. US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. YouGov. YPulse.