I can’t pinpoint the exact moment hacky sack became an exploding sensation. Since that random day though, scrolling through social media began to mean seeing videos explaining hacky sack lingo and the game’s surprisingly extensive rules. Sitting in my fourth hour waiting for class to start, also started the chaotic sounds of a circle forming. And looking out a window one day onto South’s front lawn during senior honors night brought the sight of a crowd of boys in suits casually kicking a “sack” around together.

While some may see this game as an epidemic, distraction or just another trend worthy of being mocked on TikTok, I see it as something different. Something that addresses the issues teens have struggled with, and been criticized for, over the years.

As a teen, I’ve heard the constant complaints that my generation spends too much time on their phones, doesn’t socialize enough and struggles to connect with each other in person. Simultaneously, concerns about teen mental health have continued to grow, with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) finding that roughly 40-42 percent of high school students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. However, the CDC also noted that school and peer connectedness is one of the strongest protective factors against depression and importantly, lowering suicide risk among teenagers.

This is why hacky sack matters more than people think. In a time where many teens are seemingly trapped online and struggling with mental health, or at least with connecting with their friends, the game forces interaction. It creates a healthy space for teens to come together and have fun. It turns downtime before class or at events into a social activity. It gives the chance for teens to step away from what they may be struggling with and step into a circle to hangout with their friends. While they may just be following the trend, teens forming circles to kick a sack around are also kicking away at the real issues they face.

Of course, like any trend, hacky sack is not perfect, and I can admit that there are many times I’ve seen fun become a distraction. Trying to start a class with a sack flying across the room has likely lowered its popularity among teachers, and I’ve witnessed coaches getting fed up with the overuse of the game during practices or other times where it shouldn’t be played.

Still, compared to the many trends teenagers could be embracing, this one feels relatively harmless. At the end of the day, teens are always going to find something to do that they probably shouldn’t be doing. However, if that thing happens to be standing in a circle, laughing with friends and kicking around a sack, maybe more of us should let it fly.