Raw-dogging is a relatively new travel trend in which mainly young men just sit in their seats for a whole flight with no entertainment - no phone, music, or in-flight films. Some will go without food or water, some will even go as far as not moving, not even getting up to go to the toilet.
Staring at the in flight map is something that is allowed, although some choose to just stare into space.
And naturally they will brag about this on TikTok afterwards.
A ManCity footballer recently posted about having Raw-Dogged a 7 hour flight.
Others have posted about longer sits - almost double this.
A positive trend...?
At one level I can really see the potential benefits of this. If you are just 'staring into space' then this is basically a form of meditation, potentially.
As I understand it you have to keep your eyes open, there's no napping, and so you get all that time to just deal with whatever shit comes up in your mind, focus on the breath, process what needs processing.
Maybe even if you're map staring, that could even help focus too.
And this isn't a bad way of men expressing their masculinity, through doing nothing, if this spreads, then great!
It's better than expending energy and resources on violence or motorsport, for example.
Downsides...
The way it's being done is hardly the middle way, especially if you're not drinking or moving about, the later can be a health risk on a flight, you're supposed to jiggle your legs every now and then to prevent deep vein thrombosis.
And it's rather silly to dehydrate yourself just for the sake of a Tik Tok post.
And it's also all about ego really. I say this has the potential to be meditative, it does, but if you're doing it to brag about it, then that's your focus, nothing deeper, so it's probably just going to be ego enhancing.
Rude...? What if the person next to you tries to make polite conversation, or do you tell them first I'm 'rawdogging' - if you don't you're going to be rude, more than likely, if you do tell them you're just going to look like an egotistical twat, which is basically what you are.
Middle way required...?
Overall I think this trend offers us a reminder that this can be a useful way of dealing with a flight, or any other situation that just involves hanging around (queuing for example).
However, I'd modify it so you're just doing it quietly to yourself, keep yourself hydrated, and if someone tries to make conversation, be polite, don't be a fucking egotistical idiot.