--- title: "Doctors Suggest ‘Raw-Dogging’ Your Flight Is Bad For Your Health" description: "We regret to inform you there's another semi-ironic and probably dangerous TikTok trend that's taking the internet by storm: \"raw-dogging\" a flight It's the ultimate act of mundane, self-flagellating stoicism: instead of doing the normal things people do to kill time on a miserable, long-haul flight, you tough it out by doing… nothing. Sit up […]" date: "2024-08-16" modified: "2024-08-16" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/raw-dogging-flight-bad-health" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "mental health" - "tiktok" --- # Doctors Suggest ‘Raw-Dogging’ Your Flight Is Bad For Your Health !["Raw-dogging" a flight means no food, no entertainment, and no moving from your seat. You sit there, and tough it out — like a total chump.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* We regret to inform you that there's another semi-ironic and potentially [harmful TikTok trend]() that's taking the internet by storm: "raw-dogging" a flight. It's the ultimate act of ponderous, self-flagellating stoicism: instead of doing the normal things people do to kill time on a miserable, long-haul flight, you tough it out by doing… nothing. Sit up straight, don't eat the complimentary peanuts or the frozen dinners, and don't watch a movie on the in-flight entertainment system or on one of your devices. Hell, don't even go to the bathroom or *drink water*. Be a *man*. Because all you need is discipline, grit — and maybe the in-flight map, which is apparently sacrosanct in the world of aerial raw-dogging. According to doctors, who are universally bewildered by the trend, this is a very bad idea. "They're idiots," general practitioner Gill Jenkins [told *BBC*](). "A digital detox might do you some good, but all the rest of it is against medical advice." "I really have no idea why anyone would do it," Gin Lalli, a psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, stress, and depression, [told *Fortune*](). "You're better off sleeping than raw-dogging." https://twitter.com/cityreport\_/status/1820055911668293679 And yet, people *are* doing it. Or they're at least pretending to. Soccer star and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland — who aficionados of the sport [frequently joke]() is a robot — was one such celebrity to popularize the trend, jokingly or not. "Just raw-dogged a seven hour flight," he posted [in an Instagram story](), vacantly staring at the seat in front of him. "No phone, no sleep, no water, no food, only map. #easy." And, okay: this probably isn't a thing that people actually do. But it's undeniably become [popular to joke about doing]() (or attempting), and we wouldn't rule out impressionable kids or pseudo-stoics giving it a shot for real. "If you're not moving you're at risk of deep vein thrombosis, which is compounded by dehydration," Jenkins told *BBC*. "Not going to the toilet, that's a bit stupid. If you need the loo, you need the loo." However, if you're not insane about it, raw-dogging — in severe moderation — could be beneficial for our device-addled brains. "Not having access to emails or the ability to 'check in' means that we can create the space to engage our minds in thinking about other activities and people," Sophie Mort, a clinical psychologist at Headspace, told *Fortune*. "When we grant ourselves the space to switch off, it offers an opportunity to focus on what genuinely makes us happy." "So switching off — even if just when you are traveling — can be just the ticket when it comes to protecting our mental state," she added. In short, it's fine to allow yourself a worldly pleasure or two when you're flying the red-eye in your cramped economy seat. **More on internet trends:** *[Dentists Horrified by People Carving Off Tooth Enamel at Home]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()