SINGAPORE – In case you missed it, everyone is reaching for his or her squishies again, and it is not just those in Singapore who are having a flashback moment.

Over in South Korea, young adults are flocking to the narrow alleys of Dongmyo Market and Dongdaemun’s toy district to snap up dumpling and bread-shaped squishies, along with other fidget toys such as keycaps and slime.

You have seen how quickly things go viral before, from cultural phenomena such as “girl math” to Labubus, so what makes the resurgence of interest in a toy many people remember from their childhood feel different?

Do they actually relieve stress?

In short, it seems like people’s love for sensory experiences has not been lost in the process of ageing. The origin of the trend looks to be ASMR-style TikToks of creators cracking wax-covered squishies resembling sticks of butter, glossy cubes of cheese and fruit, to produce satisfying sounds and visuals.

This is no niche corner of the internet – some of the more popular videos have garnered anywhere from 1.7 million to 64 million views, and millions of “likes”.

In South Korea, a common sentiment on social media about the sudden obsession with squishies is that they serve as a cheap thrill, a quick way to relieve stress.

Juxtaposed against soaring costs of liv...