FIDGET SPINNER: Disputed King Of The Toy Town

When I was a kid of 9 or 10 years old, the only toy I wanted was different types of beyblades and I am quite sure there were millions of other kids like me. It was the ruler of the toy town at that time. In 2017 we have another ruler of the toy town but this king is slightly disputed  as it wasn’t initially meant to be a toy and teachers in many schools consider it a threat to students’ concentration levels. 

 Recently fidget spinners have found their way into the hands of many children across the world. While you may have only heard of fidget spinner this year in 2017, they have been around since the 1990’s. It is advertised as a stress reliever, anxiety remover, focussing trouble and psychological stress. There have been claims that it calms people suffering from ADHD and autism, although these claims have not been scientifically proven.

It usually consists of a ball bearing in the centre and a three- lobed outer surface made from different materials, spins along its axis with little effort. The materials include brass, stainless steel, titanium, copper, aluminium, and plastic etc. The weight provided on its outer two or three lobes make the gyroscopic movement more balanced and results in various effects while seeing it being spin. Most people are either mesmerized or are irritated by these effects.

 Catherine Hettinger, a chemical engineer by training, is the first person who came up with this spinning toy in 1993. Catherine came up with the idea for this spinning toy to help children cope with their emotions and in turn the “spinning toy” was created. First, she thought of a soft rock that kids could throw. But then she tossed that idea aside, still thinking about other options when she returned to her home in Orlando. It was there that she eventually developed the idea that would become the original fidget spinner more than two decades before the wildly popular device became the must-have toy for both kids and adults this year. While this may have been Catherine’s guiding vision, some say the real vision came from her own health issues that made her unable to play with her daughter in traditional ways. Originally sold at art fairs in Florida and manufactured in her home, Catherine was indeed the first person to create fidget spinners.

There have been reports of many schools banning it across the world due to students spending more and more time on it and engaging in buying and trading of the same at campuses itself. Mark Rapport a  clinical psychologist at the University of Central Florida who has studied ‘the benefits of movement on attention’  suggests that fidget spinners are more likely to serve as distraction in people suffering from ADHD i.e. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Fidget spinners emerged this spring, seemingly from out of nowhere, as a must-have gadget. Before December 2016, Google searches for the words "fidget spinner" were basically non existent. Now, teachers are posting about their frustrations with spinner-obsessed students on Twitter, and the toys even have their own forum on Reddit.