A bizarre travel trend that has spread across TikTok is attracting a lot of attention this summer. If you search the video platform for the hashtag #Rawdogging, you will find numerous videos of young men sitting on a plane and staring apathetically into space. The idea behind this unusual sight is simple: to get through the (long-haul) flight without distractions. Without music, without films, without books – sometimes even without drinking or going to the toilet.
This is what lies behind the TikTok trend “Rawdogging”
The trend comes from the USA and is mainly practiced by young men. Rawdogging is a way of deliberately overcoming boredom over a longer period of time. Situations that are already perceived as boring, such as long-haul flights, are particularly suitable for this. Football star Erling Haaland has also jumped on the trend.
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According to their own statements, they spent seven hours just staring at the screen in their seats. “No cell phone, no sleep, no food, no water.” Enduring the boredom is a challenge that the “Rawdoggers” are using to make a name for themselves on TikTok.
Several studies suggest that many people find doing nothing unpleasant. No wonder, as we constantly rely on small dopamine kicks in everyday life, such as music, funny videos or news. “Unexpected positive events in particular are perceived as rewarding,” explains thePharmacy Review”.
Rawdogging as meditation?
The search for this stimulus leads us to constantly resort to distractions, such as social media. Unfortunately, it becomes increasingly difficult to engage in activities that are perceived as less rewarding – or even boring. Mindfulness exercises such as meditation are intended to counteract this.
Where does the term come from?
“Rawdogging”
Rawdogging originally meant sex without a condom. In the current context, the term means avoiding all technical means of distraction and concentrating on the “raw” experience. Rawdogging is not only practiced on flights, but can be applied to any activity. For example, doing sports without listening to music.
If you consciously concentrate on your own mind, your own feelings and sensations, this could promote creativity, says neurobiologist Martin Korte to the “Apotheken Umschau”. Rawdogging is certainly suitable for this. However, the focus of the TikTok videos is not the longing for balance, but the strength of will and the “strength of the mind” that one must muster in order to endure boredom.
Avoiding drinking can be harmful to your health
“Men like challenges,” says psychologist Michael Ceely to the American television station CNN. It is definitely more socially acceptable for men to boast about something like this than about meditation. Is raw dogging also just a performance-oriented expression for a simple mindfulness exercise? With the trend, men want to demonstrate that they can deal with loneliness and discomfort in a stoic and calm manner, says business psychologist Danielle Haig in an interview with the BBC.
But no matter what the purpose of doing nothing for hours is, in its extreme form raw dogging can be harmful to your health. Experts warn that you should not go without drinking, especially during a long flight. The low oxygen pressure and the change in humidity in the plane cause the body to lose more water. Headaches, dizziness, tiredness and dehydration can be the result.
Sitting rigidly without any movement can also increase the risk of thrombosis – which is further increased by dehydration. “Forgoing eating, drinking and going to the toilet is self-torture and can be destabilizing,” criticizes meditation researcher Ulrich Ott in an interview with the “world”. This type of renunciation is therefore usually forbidden on meditation retreats.
As far as “power of the mind” is concerned, it is not very helpful to view boredom as an evil and to celebrate the one-off success of willpower, says neurobiologist Martin Korte in an interview with “Apotheken Umschau”. Otherwise, boredom might be perceived negatively.
