Ever since the original fidget cube became the second most backed project on Kickstarter, fidget toys have quickly become universally recognized in schools. The simple toys, often molded from nothing more than plastics and a few moving parts, are designed to help people focus by giving them a tool with which to vent their fidgeting habits, but they have become a a craze; everyone wants one regardless of whether or not they actually need it.
Walking down the halls, one can spot several instances of small spinning plastic devices, or cubes of all colors being passed around. Some students have even begun to make money on the concept, buying them from cheap overstock sources and selling them to their peers. The toys range from button and switch covered cubes to simple bearing spinners, and their simplicity can be surprisingly entertaining.
Research seems to back up the concept behind them as well, with many studies pointing towards the conclusion that fidgeting is helpful. Fidgeting has always been regarded as a bad habit: in children it is seen as restlessness or hyperactivity, and in adults it as seen as unprofessional or childish. But despite the stigma, the seemingly unprofessional man chewing on his pen during a meeting may be unknowingly giving himself a major intellectual boost. As it turns out, fidgeting is a beneficial and important part of the human thought process. When a person finds a certain task, like listening to a lecture, to be boring, their level of engagement drops dramatically.
However, fidgeting provides a little bit more simple stimulation for the brain allowing it to more easily focus on the task at hand rather than becoming restless. In an article by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the University of California, T. A. Hartanto states that fidgeting can especially benefit the learning process for students with ADD or ADHD. Their study strongly linked the performance of students afflicted with ADHD on specific mental tasks, with the level of fidgeting they showed while solving them. The study gave strong evidence that fidget toys may be a very beneficial tool for students dealing with hyperactivity, as well as students without ADHD, allowing them to focus much more easily. Some research suggests this may even be a leftover evolutionary effect, as humans’ brains are not fully accustomed to focusing solely on one mental task at a time. Most animals benefit from performing multiple tasks at once, because focusing only on one task leaves a creature unaware of their surroundings. This leftover effect isn’t quite as useful in modern society, but may help to explain why people focus much better mentally when also performing a mild physical task.
The toys are harmless enough, but can become a problem when students start to pass them around and create a distraction for others. The devices are meant to be personal tools, kept to one’s self, and definitely should be regarded as a useful and constructive tool in the classroom as long as they remain discrete.
Regardless of whether the toys are used for practical purposes such as surviving a long history lecture with a least some facts retained, or just for fun, the concept has become a craze. The craze of fidget toys in schools is strongly reminiscent of the 2009 “Silly Bandz” craze, with many copycat manufacturers making knock-off versions, consequently dropping the price and raising the popularity as they spread throughout schools across the country. One of the major popularizing forces for fidget toys was actually a knock-off version produced by an unnamed young entrepreneur looking to make a good deal of money off of the original Fidget Cube. He sent the costs of manufacturing to a factory in China, and later received the shipment of his Stress Cubes. Like those simple silicone wrist bands, the incredibly basic, yet incredibly enjoyable fidget toys will likely fade away into the memorable craze of early 2017.
Jack Comiskey// Staff Writer
