The Psychology Behind the Fidget Spinner Craze

[doglover9754]

So I finally got a fidget spinner, and now I realize how it is kinda addictive. Why? There could be many possibilities, but when I think about it, there could just be a general idea to why a fidget spinner (or maybe even a fidget cube) is so addictive. A fidget spinner is just a piece of plastic that has a ton (not a ton if you are thinking literally; just a lot) of ball bearings. So, why is that so addictive where as something similar to that like a bicycle tire, a fishing reel, etc. isn’t as addictive? Is it just the fact that it looks cool to some people so it becomes a habit to use it to look cool although it is really doing nothing? Also, are fidget spinners even solving the problem of people fidgeting? At school, when fidget spinners were a big thing, I noticed that even the kids that I knew really well, who didn’t have fidgeting problems started using a fidget spinner and they soon got attached to it. Now that it isn’t a big thing, I rarely see people using it. (Sorry if this thread is in the wrong forum... I honestly had no clue where to put it. You know, with my lack of knowledge as a middle schooler )

 

[ISamson]

I think it is addictive because it is distractive and let's some fidgety fingers an opportunity to fidget with something.
I don't have one, but it was famous/popular half a year ago at my school. Waste of money. I never got one.

 

[doglover9754]

Waste of money. I never got one.

I agree. Although, I won it as a prize for a fundraiser for my band so I’m fine with it...

 

[ISamson]

I agree. Although, I won it as a prize for a fundraiser for my band so I’m fine with it...

Nice!
If it is for free, then it is totally worth it! I wanted to get one, but was never attracted by them so much, so never did.

 

[doglover9754]

Nice!
If it is for free, then it is totally worth it! I wanted to get one, but was never attracted by them so much, so never did.

Well, it was for free (for me), but technically my neighbors pretty much bought me a fidget spinner...

 

[lekh2003]

So I finally got a fidget spinner, and now I realize how it is kinda addictive. Why?

This is more of a psychology question than a physics question so I can't really give educated answers. But what I can do is give a guess. I think the feeling of spinning the spinner and subsequently the undulations of the spinning movement going through your hand is what really triggers the addiction. You feel nice having a new sensation in your finger. The more kinds of fidget spinners you try, the more you want even more.

This is a near perfect business model. Once you buy a plain one, those with a little extra to spend, can buy the better ones with more mass and better spin movements. I say near perfect because at a certain point, you get tired of it. This is why the trend just suddenly stopped. At some point, you get used to the feeling of the spin. You no longer want any more because you're satisfied. This is why the craze has died down.

Again, this is my observation from seeing the people around me in the Middle-East buying fidget spinners crazily. At the start of the craze, they would spend up to 10 dollars on a spinner. This number soon rose up to 100 dollars+. And at some point, they just stopped buying. Odd. I bet history books will have "the fidget spinner phase" and some poor kid in class will have to do an analysis or an essay.

 

[jerromyjon]

I bought a heavy steel one about 6 months ago because my girlfriend wanted one, and I got a deal for buying 2 for a discount. It is more of a novelty item like a top or a gyroscope for me, but when my younger friends visit I let them play with it. It is quite heavy so it is neat to feel how it resists rotating while it is spinning due to angular momentum.

 

[doglover9754]

This is more of a psychology question than a physics question so I can't really give educated answers. But what I can do is give a guess. I think the feeling of spinning the spinner and subsequently the undulations of the spinning movement going through your hand is what really triggers the addiction. You feel nice having a new sensation in your finger. The more kinds of fidget spinners you try, the more you want even more.

This is a near perfect business model. Once you buy a plain one, those with a little extra to spend, can buy the better ones with more mass and better spin movements. I say near perfect because at a certain point, you get tired of it. This is why the trend just suddenly stopped. At some point, you get used to the feeling of the spin. You no longer want any more because you're satisfied. This is why the craze has died down.

Again, this is my observation from seeing the people around me in the Middle-East buying fidget spinners crazily. At the start of the craze, they would spend up to 10 dollars on a spinner. This number soon rose up to 100 dollars+. And at some point, they just stopped buying. Odd. I bet history books will have "the fidget spinner phase" and some poor kid in class will have to do an analysis or an essay.

Mmm... I see. So the fidget spinner has that nice satisfying feeling so people will buy it until they buy all of the varieties because they are not satisfied until they get them all. That makes sense.