The Switch is a new gaming console created by Nintendo that has taken our generation by storm. The system plays like a home console, but doubles as a portable device. It utilizes wireless Joy-Cons controllers and the use of sd card sized cartridges to hold games. This wireless technology allows for players to enjoy their games with others on the go, including the classrooms.

Some of you may be quick to call this an inconvenience in the classroom. Many will see the Switch as a distraction while others will try to defend its use and might see any actions against it as an act of repression towards them. But we are not here to choose a side or discuss its use. Its the easiest option for a journalist to take. What us as students want to do it discuss why this trend has started, and better yet, why trends like this keep occurring.

The Switch is not the first school trend to sweep the classrooms. For years, students have been bringing in several different items to their schools which eventually became a distraction, at least, according to school staff. A recent example includes the Fidget Spinner, which despite being designed to avoid distraction and help those with mental disabilities, has done the complete opposite in the eyes of many people. Many of these items have been banned from schools and discouraged from use by teachers and staff. It’s highly likely that the Switch will suffer the same fate.

So why do these trends blow up? That question is answered when we realize one of the main causes of this phenomenon is the student’s need for an escape from their academic studies. School is a required routine and items like the Switch counteract that mundane nature. This, in turn, produces a relief as their worries are forgotten about before returning to their working environment. In a way, items like the Switch, along with many other trends throughout the school, could bring students together.

It can also create a more fun environment for the classroom, which gets students engaged with each other and actively participating in something other than academics. You can even say that it creates more of a community than school assignments ever could.

When students are having a good time, many others will try to join in on the action. Once these items become trendy, it becomes almost instinctive for others to repeat and adopt those trends. Teens have the instinct to fit in with the crowd and using materials like the Switch or Fidget Spinners helps them keep up with other people’s interests. Thus, the usage of those items becomes common and mandatory for the masses. It was hard to come across a classroom where someone wasn’t attempting to flip bottles or show off their flashy Fidget Spinners.  Pretty soon the Nintendo Switch could be the new Fidget Spinner.

The fate of the Nintendo Switch in our schools is unknown, but it’s best to analyze the behaviors that students exhibit throughout the classrooms. Trendy items are a unique feature of our school that, while not beneficial to the school environment, also builds a community based on interest and helps relieve the stresses that linger on our kids.