Hiren, 25, had an innocuous behavioural problem; one that he wanted to fix—drumming his fingers over a table, or any surface when he tries to stay focused. This could happen while he is working at his desk, at a meeting, or even at the cinema theatre. The desk-drumming was beginning to get on the nerves of those around him. Not any more, though. Because Hiren now belongs to a league of people who have taken to a new trend to relax, and dump the excess energy—fidget toys.
While stress-relieving toys have always been around, the recent trend of fidget toys has brought a new wave of collectible, fancy-looking, mini gadgets. The coolest, and the most popular among fidget toys, is the fidget cube. The small hand-held cube comes with on/off switch, buttons, dials, and joysticks—any of these on each side. With the fidget cube, one can roll, click, flip, spin, and do all those tasks that appeal to twitchy fingers.
Hiren, who bought a fidget cube online from the US-based Antsy Labs that introduced the cube, says: “I find it difficult to sit still. I might desk-drum or even swivel my chair, which gets very annoying for those around. Now with the fidget cube, these behaviours have come down.” Hiren carries the tiny cube with him wherever he goes. You never know when an urge to fidget might strike. And what makes it a saviour is that nobody really notices the fidget cube in your hand, or the fact that you are actually fidgeting. So, no more of those 'stop fidgeting' statements.
For Hiren, a digital strategist in an advertising firm, the cube also serves another purpose. “I tend to use my mobile phone a lot—just surfing the internet or reading Wikipedia pages, even if I am watching a movie.” The cube has helped him keep his hands off the phone lately. As he puts it: It is a 'distraction from my distraction'.
While Hiren uses the toy to evade irritating behaviour, Neeti Aswin, a journalist, has other reasons to use the fidget cube. Says Neeti: “More than helping one focus, it helps with anxiety because it keeps the mind distracted from overthinking, or feeling anxious in a crowd. It is better than trying to look busy on the phone.”
The cube also helps focus on a line of thought, “It runs parallel to thinking. So, instead of getting distracted by looking at other things, the cube makes you concentrate on clicking, and thinking,” she adds.
Fidget spinners
Besides the fidget cube, the toys also show an interesting variety—fidget spinners, and fidget rings, too. The fidget spinner, which comes in a variety of metal bodies like stainless steel, brass, copper and even titanium, are designed to spin with the flick of a finger. According to media reports, the fidget spinner craze has been sweeping across the US, with every one of the top selling toys on Amazon, a variant of the spinner.
In India, online shopping platforms offer a range of fidget toys. While fidget cubes are available for just over Rs 100 to over Rs 4,000, fidget spinners range from less than Rs 100 to even more than Rs 40,000.
'Fidget' is not really a word that comes with a positive connotation. But the word developing into a trend is quite fascinating. “For some people, these toys help release their physical restlessness, in others it acts as a great distracting agent. There is also an element of recreation in these toys, which in itself helps bust stress,” says Dr Samir Parikh, Director, Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Heathcare. These are not, however, a one-size-fits-all solution. It need not appeal to all groups of people; it depends on a person's general interest, he adds.
Besides its benefits among fidgety adults, some argue that fidget toys can be used to help children deal with anxiety, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other mental health issues. However, experts disagree. “We cannot generalise such devices and say they can be used to aid mental health conditions. That is not a scientific way to look at it,” says Parikh.
All said, Hiren says, “I sincerely think this is a fad.” Parikh, too, agrees, “Because of the stress levels in our lives these days, we will keep on experimenting with such things. Trends will come and go.”
