As a new 21 year old, I've been feeling pretty removed from the teens. While great (I was the worst teen), it feels weird to be removed from trends and things that I hear about but don't really know what they are. What do teens listen to? What do they do? Why do they all look older than me?
I heard about fidget spinners maybe a few months ago, but I didn't think much about them or care to do any research. Two weeks ago, Vice posted an article on their Snapchat Discover page (ugh, please judge me for reading Discover pages) about the manufacturers of these toys. Since then, I've seen tons of tweets making fun of the objects.
The manufacturers say the spinners decrease symptoms of anxiety, ADHD and autism. But... there is no scientific research about these toys being used as a treatment, so why are manufacturers saying the spinners can be used as a treatment? The other issue with is that the toy doesn't even require you to fidget while using it. You flick one part of it and it spins for about a minute. There's no fidgeting involved with this.
If you give a child a spinning toy (why not a top, honestly), won't that be the main focus of their attention? How can this treat ADHD?
This reminded me of another toy like object I've seen shared countless of times on Facebook: the fidget cube (why does the word "fidget" bother me so much). I wondered if anyone actually purchased one, then saw a guy walk out of a class clicking one of the buttons back and forth. Does this really work for people? The company of the fidget cube claims that it relieves stress.
When I'm stressed or anxious, I either twirl my hair or braid it, sometimes I jiggle my leg up and down. Would holding one of these cubes and clicking a switch back and forth help? Possibly. However, if I hear someone next to me or behind me in class constantly clicking a button (I think half of the point is for the person to hear the sound, isn't it?), I would go crazy. I wouldn't be able to focus; instead, I'd be wondering how I could throw a pencil at the person's head to get them to stop.
Fidget spinners I don't think are any better. If someone next to you is making something spin, there's nothing else you'd be paying attention to. When I told a friend about writing this article, she told me that her brother actually had one. I had her ask him why he got one:
The simple answer of "it's addicting" is interesting. The point is just... watching something spin around? Business Insider said that on Amazon, 46 out of 50 top-selling toys on the site are fidget related. Is this just another fad that's sweeping schools and teens?
Can they change the name of these things though? I keeping having a temptation to fidget.
