A new trend is making its way through school, something called Needohs. These squishy fidget toys have been seen all around on desks, in classrooms and throughout hallways. Their popularity has left people curious about what makes them so appealing, are they just fun to play with, or do they help students focus and relieve stress? Whatever the reason, NeeDohs have started catching many peoples attention.
NeeDohs toys was founded in 2018 with a simple mission to bring fun and relaxation to playtime. They worked to create innovative, sensory-rich, and durable toys that help both kids and adults relieve stress. So are students using it for the intended purpose or are they just persuaded by the trend?
“I mostly use my Needoh for focus and stress. When I’m writing, doing notes, or in a lecture it can often be boring and I lose my focus, but while using the Needoh, it doesn’t distract me, and can help me focus more” Piotrowski said.
While Addison Piotrowski, a freshman at school finds that the fidget is actually benefiting her, Ceci Fisher, another classmate doesn’t give in to the hype.
“I think they are okay, but I’m not really into it. I get why other people like it since it can be satisfying and kind of helps with focus, but I don’t like the texture, so it just doesn’t feel that great to me” Fisher said.
This isn’t the first time fidgets are popular, so what makes these different this time around?
“I think students have recently found that they can be a lot better and prefer to use Needohs over other fidgets, because of how they feel, and because they are quiet,” Piotrowski said.
It’s shown that the popularity of NeeDoh’s is driven not only by their actual quality but also by strong social media influences and seeing other students using them at school.
“I first started to see Needohs around school, hearing people talk about and using them. And eventually they started popping up on social media” Lange said.
NeeDohs have seemed to leave an imprint on students like Harper Lange but like most trends around school and on social media, they tend to fade.
“Most trends like this get really popular for a short time and then people move on to something new. It might still be around, but it probably won’t be as popular as it is right now within a month or so” Fisher said.
