When I was in elementary school, everyone in my classes were obsessed with fidgets. First grade was fidget spinners, second and third were slime and putty, and fifth grade brought about pop-its: little toys in all different shapes and colors designed for stress relief and distractions began appearing everywhere. And me personally? I was obsessed. My collection grew and so did my need to satisfy my restless movements. As the Coronavirus pandemic heightened, the fidget market continued to expand. When we were finally allowed back to school, I packed my favorite fidgets in my backpack excited to show off to my friends. But to my surprise all the colorful pop-its I had seen so regularly over zoom had disappeared. New things started to come and go, as fads always do, and as a society, or at least my seventh grade class, we moved on. Now, in my junior year of high school, I’ve noticed the rise of Needohs. Needohs feature colorful, sparkly, funky shaped, stretchy, plastic shapes filled with a variety of different dough-like jellies. Not only have I noticed a rise in these toys, I’ve noticed that it’s the same generation that used to be obsessed with pop-its, who are now obsessed with needohs. So I guess the question is: Why is my generation so obsessed with fidgeting?
It’s not only their sparkles and colors that make Needohs so captivating. They provide immediate tactile feedback that instantly regulates the nervous system. Needohs can lower heart rate and cortisol levels through its rhythmic tendencies. There are several reasons the need for instant stress relief is so appealing to teenagers like me and my friends. COVID-19 has caused widespread, long-term psychological effects, significantly increasing rates of anxiety, depression, and stress globally. Likely due to the constant fear, and social isolation. Key mental health side effects include chronic sleep problems, loneliness, and, in some patients, lingering cognitive impairments.
Another likely contributor is my generation’s inability to not have immediate gratification, another pandemic side effect, and an inclination taught by social media’s ability to change our mood from happy to sad and back to happy in a matter of seconds.For me, sitting with stress or anxiety for more than a minute feels like death. This seems to be a common consensus amongst my peers. The lack of mental health resources readily available to youth means many teens don’t have the knowledge to be able to self regulate themselves without reaching for these “childish” tactile devices. And don’t get me wrong, I myself have delved into the needoh fascination. But even I know the relief from Needohs is not a long term fix. And what happens when Needohs become un-cool again? What will my generation gravitate to next?
Another potential side effect could have resulted in teens wanting to get away from the stress of everyday life by regressing back to a time when things were simple. For a generation that had to grow up too fast, missed out on key learning and developmental opportunities, and had to work double time to make up for the work they missed due to the pandemic, it makes sense that the pressure became too much and some of us want to go back and relive the time we lost. Many of my peers, myself included, have felt almost as though time has stopped moving since the beginning of the pandemic. Many of us still identify with the awkward sixth graders we once were. A group of kids loved fidgets and slime that turned into a group of awkward juniors who still have the same love for fidgets and slime.
As a member of a group of confused kids that lacked the developmental and experimental time they needed during middle school, I’m grateful for the help Needohs have provided. They also provided insight on how society has failed to help us kids who missed out on so much. Whether fidgets, squishes, or Needohs, my generation has clung to stress relievers like life saviors and it’s about time we address the real reasons why.
Article by Ozy Zinke-Haschemeyer and Noa Gitelson