The way young people relieve stress is changing. Small sensory items such as squishy balls and keycap keychains are becoming increasingly popular among university students. The rise of fidget culture reflects a simple desire: less digital stimulation, more physical comfort. These small tactile items have become simple ways for young people to relieve stress in everyday life.

From Viral Moments to Online Trends

Fidget culture is not entirely new. Earlier forms of fidget culture, such as fidget spinners, experienced massive popularity in the late 2010s. During the COVID-19 pandemic, sensory toys gained renewed attention as people searched for small sources of comfort amid long periods of isolation. Since then, fidget products have diversified beyond spinners to include squishy balls, clickable keychains, and sensory rings.

In South Korea, interest in fidget items spiked after the K-pop idol Rosé appeared using a squishy ball on the YouTube channel, Vogue Korea. As of May 2026, the clip has accumulated nearly three million views, leading to a surge in demand that prompted brands such as fwee, Olive Young, and BBIA to incorporate fidget-style goods into their marketing.

According to Yuqi Liu's 2025 study The Rise of Sensory Fidget Toys, social media platforms such as TikTok accelerated the spread of sensory toys. Viral videos featuring squishy balls on Instagram and TikTok have attracted millions of views. Interest has also spread to offline spaces, with social media content featuring toy markets such as Changsin-dong and Dongmyo gaining popularity among young consumers. These platforms have further helped transform such stress-relief tools into shareable lifestyle trends. 

This cultural shift is also reflected in market data. Research by Fortune Business Insights valued the global fidget toys market at approximately USD 9.01 billion in 2025, with steady growth projected through 2034. Manufacturers are now focusing on customizable textures, colors, and engravings to attract consumers, according to the same analysis—indicating that fidget culture is evolving beyond a fad into a significant consumer category. 

Squishy balls in various shapes and colors

More Than Just Stress Relief

Fidget culture has also become increasingly visible on university campuses. Choi Seo-yoon, a student in the Dept. of Electronic Engineering at Kyung Hee University (KHU), said, "I play around with squishy balls almost unconsciously while studying." 

Another student, Kim Su-yeon from Hansei University, described the sensory appeal of the items. "The texture of squishy toys and the sound of keycap keychains help me feel calmer when studying becomes overwhelming," she said.

The trend has expanded beyond personal use into university-organized events. KHU's Global Campus hosted a keycap keychain-making event featuring the university mascot KHUon in March 2026, attracting strong student participation. The trend continued into May, when KHUmily, a supporter group under KHU’s Office of External Affairs, operated a keycap decorating booth at KHU Global Campus’ spring festival Adelante, attracting great interset from students.

This growing popularity on campus shows that what once functioned mainly as a stress-relief tool has increasingly become part of students' personal style: Customized keychains attached to backpacks and pencil cases serve not only as accessories but also as small expressions of identity and comfort.

A keycap decorating booth operated by KHUmily at Adelante in May 2026

Small Spending, Instant Satisfaction

Interest in fidget items can be understood through a broader consumer trend known as "Feelconomy," a Korean neologism combining “feel” and “economy.” Feelconomy was introduced as a key consumption trend in Trend Korea 2026  by Seoul National University's Consumer Trend Center. The concept describes how consumers purchase goods and services to manage their emotional state. For many students facing rising living costs and economic uncertainty, this takes the form of small, affordable purchases that offer immediate comfort rather than larger discretionary spending. 

Park Se-eun, a student in the Dept. of English Language and Literature at KHU, explained this sentiment: "In an era of high prices, spending 5,000 won for a small moment of joy feels worthwhile."

Recent spending data also reflects the shift. NH NongHyup Bank and NH NongHyup Card reported that toy spending among consumers in their 20s and 30s jumped 224% in 2025 compared with 2024. Stores like ARTBOX and Toys”R”Us Korea have taken notice, expanding their kidult lines to meet the demand.

In addition to emotional satisfaction, fidget items offer predictability. A fidget spinner changes speed based on how the user moves, while a squishy ball always springs back to its original shape after being squeezed. For students dealing with academic pressure and anxiety about the future, such repetitive responses can provide brief moments of relief.

Touch, Comfort, and the Brain

Experts have suggested that there may be deeper reasons behind the growing popularity of fidget items. 

In a 2017 Forbes article titled Here’s the Science Behind The Fidget Spinner Craze, health expert Bruce Y. Lee raised the possibility  that the use of fidget spinners reflected a type of ritual—a repeated behavior offering comfort, predictability, and familiarity lacking in real life.

In a similar line, Professor Choi Hye-won of the Dept. of Sociology at KHU explained that many young people use these objects to cope with stress related to academics, employment, and uncertainty about the future.

Prof. Choi pointed to psychologist Harry Harlow's classic experiments, in which infant monkeys separated from their mothers clung to cloth dolls rather than wire ones. The experiment demonstrated that touch plays a crucial role in emotional security. Choi said the soft textures and repetitive motions of fidget items may offer users a similar sense of grounding.

She then compared the trend to older comfort habits, such as handling prayer beads. Objects similar to modern fidget toys have existed for centuries, including Greek worry beads, spinning tops from ancient China, and handheld meditation objects used across Asia. Historically, these tools were often associated with calming the mind and maintaining concentration. As such, modern sensory toys can be seen as updated forms of long-standing comfort behaviors.

Similarly, fidget items have become more than simple toys, but as small tools that help students manage stress in their daily lives. 

Small Objects, But Meaningful Support

Fidget items are steadily becoming part of students' daily lives. Their growing popularity reflects more than a temporary social media trend. The rise of fidget culture has been shaped by digital fatigue, emotional consumption, and growing uncertainty among young adults. In environments filled with constant pressure and overstimulation, small tactile objects have become quiet but reliable sources of comfort for many students.