The Spinner Epidemic

James Torrico, Writer

As the new wave of trends arrive, there is one that is the most notable and that happens to be the Fidget Spinners. Fidget Spinners are toys that made of a different variety of metals and bearings that creates a spinning motion of the toy. The Spinners are sold as a “stress-relieving toy” by allowing the person using it to release stress and focus on tasks. Originally the spinners were created in the early 1990 and their main purpose was to help kids with anxiety, Autism, and ADHD. With the original creator, Catherine Hettinger, losing the patent in 2005, the fidget spinner was able to be made by anyone. Within the span of 12 years, the spinners have been silent and unnoticed until now. Currently at the peak of the hype,  spinners are being used for style and amusement.

 

This trend that has turned something useful, into something that society has taken as a fun toy. Soon it will die off like any other trend but right now it reigns king. As I walk down the hall I see people spinning while walking and carrying a conversation. In a way the Fidget Spinners allow people to have the capability to multi-task and enhance their concentration on every other task. When a new trend appears, there are always conflicts involving the trend. Many schools across the nation banned the use of the toy from school grounds. The reasoning being that “they are a distraction in the learning environment.”

People have also reported to have suffered minor injures due to the toy. The trend has seemed to inspire other inventions and ideas that focus on have the user have a higher concentration level. As for example the Fidget Cube spawned from it. The Cube is also the same concept but instead of spinning a metal device, you flick different buttons on a cube. Some might even say that the fidget devices use the placebo effect.    

A new cultural revolution is taking place as humans are trying to find new ways to use their brain capacity and become more functional in everyday life. These Fidget Spinners are just the beginning to contraptions like this. From here on out, we are going to have more complex items that might possibly further advance us as human, but only time can tell what is next.