The 'Rawdogging Flights' Trend Is Dumb (And I Accidentally Tried It)

Maybe you've seen this on TikTok or Twitter. 'Rawdogging' a flight means sitting in your seat for the entire duration without any form of entertainment — no phone, no book, no movies, no music, no sleep, not even food or water. Just you and your thoughts. It started as a joke among pilots and frequent flyers, but somehow it became a trend. People are bragging about doing it. I found this absurd. But also, I'm a curious person. And I had a 6-hour flight from New York to Los Angeles last week. So I decided to try it. For science. Or stupidity. Probably both.

The Setup

I boarded my Delta flight, put my phone in my backpack under the seat in front of me, and refused to take it out. No AirPods. No book. No crossword. I told myself I'd just sit and stare at the seatback in front of me, or out the window, or at the ceiling. I would not engage with any media. I would not eat or drink anything. I would try not to sleep. I'd just exist, in the most boring way possible, for 6 hours. The flight attendant offered a drink. I said 'no thank you.' She looked confused. I felt like a weirdo.

The First Hour: Surprisingly Fine

I won't lie. The first hour was kind of nice. I had a window seat and the clouds were pretty. I watched them for a while. I thought about my week. I thought about what I'd do in LA. I noticed how loud the plane was — the hum of the engines, the creaks of the cabin. I usually block that out with headphones. It was meditative in a way. I felt like a monk. I felt superior to the people around me scrolling through Instagram. This is easy, I thought. This is nothing.

Hour 2-3: The Boredom Sets In

By hour two, the clouds got boring. The seatback in front of me had a scratch on it. I counted the rows of rivets on the ceiling. There were 47. I checked again. 46. I miscounted. That killed about 4 minutes. I started reading the safety card for the hundredth time. I thought about getting my phone. I resisted. The guy next to me was watching a Marvel movie on his iPad. I could see it from the corner of my eye. I tried not to look. It was hard. My back started to hurt from sitting in the same position. I shifted around. The seatbelt sign was off. I could get up and stretch. But that felt like cheating. I stayed seated.

Hour 4: The Real Struggle

This is where it got bad. My mouth was dry. I was thirsty but I had committed to no water. Bad decision. My stomach growled. The flight attendant came by with the snack cart. I could smell the pretzels. I wanted a Diet Coke so badly I could taste it. I didn't ask. I sat there, hungry and thirsty and bored out of my mind. My thoughts turned dark. Why am I doing this? Who started this trend? What is wrong with people? I started composing angry articles in my head. This is the article you're reading now. It was born in that moment of misery.

Hour 5: Mental Breakdown

I started hallucinating? No, not really. But I started having weird thoughts. I replayed conversations from years ago. I cringed at things I said in high school. I thought about the time I accidentally insulted a friend's cooking. Why was I thinking about this? Because my brain had nothing else to do. That's the thing about rawdogging — you're stuck with your own thoughts, and if you're anything like me, your thoughts are not always pleasant company. I started counting again. The rows. The windows. The people. There were 32 people in my section. I looked at each one and made up a backstory. The guy in 17A is a retired accountant who secretly writes poetry. The woman in 18C is a marine biologist. I have no evidence for any of this.

Hour 6: The Landing

At hour 6, we started descending. I had made it. I felt a mix of pride and profound stupidity. I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, I didn't watch anything. I just sat. The landing was smooth. I got my phone out as soon as the wheels touched the ground. I checked Twitter. I saw someone else bragging about rawdogging a 14-hour flight to Japan. They are lying. Or they are a psychopath. I'm pretty sure it's the former.

What I Learned

I learned that this trend is dumb. Not because it's hard — it is hard — but because it serves no purpose. There's no benefit to suffering through a flight without basic comforts. It doesn't make you tougher. It doesn't make you more mindful. It just makes you miserable for no reason. The people who started this are probably the same people who say 'I don't watch TV, I read books' in a smug tone. Good for them. I like watching movies on planes. I like eating pretzels. I like drinking ginger ale from those tiny cans. I'm not going to apologize for it.

If you want to try rawdogging for the experience, go ahead. But don't do it to prove anything. And definitely bring water. That was the worst part. I was so thirsty. Don't be like me. Drink water. Watch a movie. Enjoy your flight. It's not a contest.