Fidget toys have become increasingly associated with anxiety management among Gen Z, appearing more frequently in classrooms, social spaces, and online as both stress relief tools and viral consumer items/collectibles. At the same time, its use has expanded alongside growing awareness and an uptick in the diagnosis of anxiety in young people. Their popularity has also led to concerns about overconsumption and access for those who rely on them the most. 

Safiya Lowe ’28 stated, “I think the recent trends are very awesome and interesting, but I think it’s important to prioritize those with anxiety issues first, because this trend has become so popular that it could limit the materials they need to be calm.”

Julie Lyons, Upper School Counselor, shared a similar perspective. While she believes fidget toys should be accessible to everyone, she emphasized that widespread demand should not come at the cost of students who genuinely depend on them. She stated that “if we’re going to have it [fidget toys] accessible to everyone, we don’t want that to then hinder anyone.”

Lowe continued, “I think everyone can totally use fidget toys. I just think it’s important to respect everyone around you and leave some for everyone. I’ve seen a lot of videos where people buy all of the ones in the store for their kids, even though they only need one. Everyone deserves to have one!” 

Sara Mammadova, ’28 who participated in the fidget toy trend, described her early involvement with collecting and using fidget toys.

“So, initially, I participated in the fidget toy trend when I was younger. I was a big squishy collector,” she said. “I had a huge collection of squishies. I used to make slime with my friends all the time, and I would make them with scented stuff.” 

Mammadova noted that her use of fidget toys connects to anxiety and stress management for her and it works effectively, especially in school environments.

She also described how overconsumption in viral demand has changed availability and access. 

“I think in general consumerism is bad.” She continued, “It’s even worse when it comes to fidget toys because they weren’t viral at first … now everyone buys them, and now there are little amounts of fidget toys in stores.” 

She added that as someone who struggles with anxiety, it’s disheartening to see this overconsumption because it is genuinely affecting people who need these fidgets the most.

Lyons explained that she finds fidgets very useful as a school counselor,  especially at times when kids are going through stressful moments. Offering them one of the fidgets she has in her office can really help them regulate their feelings. 

She said, “ I think it’s not necessarily used now as a way to keep students active, but rather a way to soothe, so I think that that is a positive instrument.”

Diana Day, Academic Technology Coordinator and Portal Content Director, also discussed how fidget toys appear in school environments from a teacher’s perspective and how they relate to student focus and well-being. When asked about her experience with seeing fidget toys in the media, she commented that she really hasn’t seen or heard about any content surrounding fidget toys. 

However, she’s known about fidget toys for a while, stating that “at our school, we focus on wellness. I know we’ve had different professional developments … they gave us a little basket with different tactile items and fidget things.” 

Even so, she expressed concerns about how they function in a real classroom setting.

“I’m not completely convinced that it works, because when everybody’s playing with it during class time, I’m seeing people looking at the putty and playing with the putty and making shapes with the putty instead of paying attention,” she said. “It’s becoming more of a conversation piece rather than something used to help attention.”

Lyons acknowledged that fidget toys can sometimes become distractions when they are treated as toys rather than tools. However, she believes that they can truly be beneficial to students. 

Lyons expanded on this by saying that “ It’s a way to engage your senses as a way to sort of calm, reset, restart your mind and also your emotional reaction to things… It really depends on how we’re teaching kids how to use them, how kids are using them, and why they need them.”