Why are pacifiers becoming a growing (and viral) trend among adults?

Pacifier. Dummy. Soothie. Jar Jar Binky.

Call them whatever you want, the rubber / plastic / silicone nipple substitutes are making a comeback. And they’re not just for toddlers anymore.

The latest craze spreading online is adult pacifiers – and before you legitimately cry out that we’re backsliding as a species or that we’re seemingly hellbent on disproving Darwinism, the trend is rooted in something more serious than just the latest fashion fad or attention-seeking quirk.

It all kicked off with stressed out adults in China, who started posting online that they were turning to adult pacifiers to relieve their stress and anxiety.

Early August, the South China Morning Post reported that adults in China were spending upwards of €60 for adult pacifiers – which are larger than the average child dummy – and some retailers were even claiming that they were selling more than 2,000 every month. More than that, e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com have seen a surge in listings for adult pacifiers.

Much like Labubus, the seemingly harmless trend has been spreading like wildfire, crossing borders to Europe and the US, with online fans of adult pacifiers describing them as “soothing” and “safe”. Some even started claiming that the adult pacifiers were helping them deal with sleep apnea. Cue: TikTokers sucking on their binkies during periods of stress, before professional meetings, during rush-hour traffic, when confronted with the existential dread decrying from troubling news, and whenever faced with the distressing grin of a Labubu.

Just us on that last one? Ok... Keep lying to yourselves, they have the cold dead eyes of a killer.

Still, considering the price of therapy or the increasing prices of cigarettes these days, can you blame those embracing a pacifier? Plus, as a way of quitting smoking, why not try whatever helps – even if sucking on a dummy does make you look... well, like a bit of a dummy?

So, has the code been cracked for the ultimate stress-reliever? 

Maybe. But then again, maybe not. You see, the silicone soothers aren’t best loved by medical professionals, who are warning against the viral trend. 

Dr. Tang Caomin, a dentist in Chengdu, Sichuan province in southwestern China, warned SCMP that “if you sleep with a pacifier in your mouth, it can interfere with breathing, and in the worst case, there is a risk of suffocation.” 

The doctor also cautioned that prolonged use can disrupt your sleep - as well as lead to oral problems, including straining your jaw, teeth misalignment and infections.  

“The potential damage to customers’ mouths by the pacifiers is intentionally played down by their sellers. By sucking the dummy for more than three hours a day, the position of your teeth might change after a year," said Dr. Tang Coamin.  

Going a step further, the Fédération française d'orthodontie (FFO) - French Orthodontic Federation – has stated that, contrary to popular belief, “the alleged benefits such as pain relief, stress reduction or help with smoking cessation are based solely on isolated testimonials and are a placebo effect with no proven scientific basis.” 

Dr David Couchat, spokesperson for FFO, shared with French outlet L’Express: “It's simply absurd, and I say that without any moral judgement. Social media is full of outlandish recommendations, which is its main danger, but frankly, we didn't expect such excesses.” 

Several health organisations have advised social media users succumbing to this trend to seek other solutions via consultations with medical professionals. In addition, psychologists have voiced concern over the trend, arguing that by relying on pacifiers, adults may be avoiding the underlying causes of their anxiety. 

Indeed, this is - like many things - rooted in psychology: regression, a type of defense mechanism characterized by age-inappropriate impulses that communicate distress. In other words, many cope with emotions and daily stressers by harking back to behaviour associated with a previous stage of life development – in this case, the safety of childhood. 

Or, if you’re a keen student of Sigmund Freud, this need to suckle on something harks back to oral fixation, ie: the coping mechanism that denotes an individual’s focus on oral activities like sucking, biting and eating.

We won’t go into Freud’s thoughts on how these fixations are due to unresolved issues in previous stages of psychological development, otherwise we’ll be here all day. Scratch that – all month. 

But as expected, the majority of users aren’t fussed about the dental drama and continue to advocate for adult pacifiers.

In the comments section of a TikTok by @thebentist, one user swore: “I just use an adult pacifier it hasn’t moved my teeth been using them for 4 years.” Another added: “Just get an adult pacifier I use one! And the ADHD tip it works!!(for me).” 

We hear you. Life ain’t always easy, so take your emotional bandages where you can find them...

Stress is a daily beast to tame, especially these days when faced with daily reminders that we live in what seems like an irrevocably divided world; confronted with a culture in which civil discourse feels like a thing of the past; challenged by people who debase views that don’t chime with their own opinions; frustrated by those who deliver well-meaning but wildely patronizing lectures about how we should and should not act; crippled by skyrocketing prices that make certain hobbies or anxiety-reducing activities prohibitively expensive; saddened by having to say goodbye to directing masters and acting legends; and worried by the creeping sensation that Avengers: Doomsday may end up sucking... DON’T START FILMING A MOVIE WITHOUT A FINISHED SCRIPT, MARVEL!

When taking these elements into account – and many more that would push punctuation to its no longer acceptable limits - this surprising consumer phenomenon can raise the question: Is someone sucking on a dummy harming anyone, really? And as for the Freudian implications, just look at the shape of vapes and tell us there’s no common aesthetic / gesture denominator there...

An adult pacifier may seem like the lesser of many evils when it comes to coping with looming burnout and at the end of the day, how you deal with your stress is entirely your business. Moreover, this quick and increasingly trendy fix – sorry, suck – ultimately exists as a sad symptom of growing emotional fragility. And before the judgemental lot reading that sentence start reaching for pathetic-old-man-shouting-at-the-clouds terms like “woke” or “Gen Z snowflakes”, they'd do well to take a moment to consider their own routines / coping mechanisms and their potential for derision.

No one is arguing that this recent trend isn't on the weird side of the fence; but as long as users of adult pacifiers don’t transform their teeth into vandalised graveyards with three hours of sucking or ignore the fact that their dummy is a temporary comfort that can mask deeper emotional issues, the real dummies are those who let it get to this.

There’s no doubt that healthier coping strategies exist. But whatever helps you get through the day... Now, where’s my vape?