Everything you need to know about the air travel trend called raw-dogging

Let’s be honest: long hours of flying are extremely boring. Passengers usually spend their time looking for in-flight entertainment, watching downloaded movies or TV shows, and listening to music or podcasts. But this rule is an exception for “raw-doggers.” This latest social media travel trend is perfect for passengers who can endure an entire flight without any entertainment; which means, no phones, no books, no music and sometimes, no snacks either. The only exception for raw-doggers is watching the in-flight GPS tracking screen showing the plane’s activity during the flight.

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According to a report by The Street, Google Trends shows that the use of the term “raw-dogging flight” suddenly increased by the end of spring this year. TikTok users have been sharing their experiences of raw-dogging on the video platform. “Just raw-dogged a 7 hour flight (new personal best). No headphones, no movies, no water, nothing,” claimed UK-based DJ Woodini in a video posted on June 4, as quoted by People.

Documenting her activity-free flights, TikTok user Veronica Skya wrote, “My beige flag is that I enjoy Raw Dogged flights. “No headphones. No movies. I just stare into the abyss for hours and watch the little GPS plane.” Australian musician Tauren Foot echoed a similar sentiment, writing, “Just raw dogged it, 15 hour flight to Melbourne, no music, no movies, just the flight map (I counted to 1 million twice).”

Another user named West reported that he survived a seven-hour flight with the sole company of a flight map. “I’ve gotten messages on Instagram like, ‘Bro, you need to teach us how to fly without backs,'” he said in an interview with GQ, as quoted by People. “I get bored of watching the same movies. Visually, you’re somewhat incapacitated. You can only see the seat in front of you, your right or left if you’re at the window. All you hear is the drumbeat of the engine. It’s just white noise,” he added.

‘Raw-dogging’ was first heard in a 1989 American sitcom Seinfeld in which a character named David Puddy (Patrick Warburton) used the word during a flight. David refused to read anything during the flight, which annoyed Elaine Benes, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

It is said that the benefit of raw-dogging flights is that it has an almost meditative quality, when all kinds of stimuli are shut out, allowing the mind to function clearly without distractions.

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