Bella Fiddler

Students find thinking putty a good outlet to stay on task during long days of school.

Although educationally fulfilling, days at Benilde-St. Margaret’s can be strenuous, exhausting, and boring for some students. Whether it’s listening to a theology lecture, a new unit in history, or learning how to conjugate different Spanish verbs, students can become restless, full of energy, or overwhelmed and stressed with new information. While this can often be demonstrated in smaller forms, such as restless leg syndrome or mindless doodling, a new source to both manage and regulate pent-up energy or stress is rising in popularity: fidget toys.

Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty, an older popular brand, spiked in trends around schools in 2017 but has recently made a comeback. The putty comes in various sorts, from changing colors to different scented slime. But what’s significant about this putty is that it gives students more motivation and less distraction while completing classroom tasks. Junior Olivia Pellegrene enjoys using this putty as an escape from the overwhelming tasks she is assigned during the day. “They give you something for your hands to work with …[it’s] a distraction that helps you focus more,” Pellegrene said.

Fidgets especially serve as a good outlet for those who are major procrastinators. When completing homework, it can come across as daunting or impossible to finish or get done correctly, causing students to put off the work until the last minute. However, the new popularity of fidgets gives students a way to have their bodies focus on one thing while allowing the brain to remain dedicated to the task at hand. Junior Sierra Barrett is a fan of using fidgets as a way to maintain energy and get her work done. “It becomes hard to stay focused or maintain the momentum to do your work. A good outlet for that is fidgets; they help me regulate stress,” Barrett said.

While the trend of fidgets has gone around BSM recently, fidgets also connect to the worldwide lowering attention spans. The American Psychological Association (APA) has researched decreased attention spans and has stated that the internet and digital devices are largely to blame for the lesser motivation to stay on task, which also makes it more difficult to multitask. Although fidgets are a good way to repress the need for other distractions, such as going on TikTok or playing easy games on computers, they also send a message that students have a greater need for different resources to stay focused.