Are you baffled by the new trend of ‘raw-dogging’ on air travel? We have spoken to experts to understand the motivations for doing so and its health drawbacks.
For most of us, a flightlong distance It is something that we must try to shorten with some basic personal care. Time is a progress bar and life comes down to eating, drinking, sleeping, going to the bathroom and being entertained.
But a brave new breed of travelers is showing us there’s another way to do it: the ‘raw-dogging‘. In case you haven’t seen the images yet young people staring straight ahead in the airplaneslet us explain it to you… In fact, that’s basically all there is to it.
Flying aimlessly means spend the trip looking at the seat in front or, if you’re lucky, an onboard map. No music, movies, snacks or drinks. And in its harshest form, no bathroom breaks.
Who is carrying out these types of flights?
Erling Haalanda 24-year-old Norwegian best known for his football exploitsis one of those who are turning ‘raw-dogging’ into a kind of competitive sport.
Recently, the forward of the Manchester City He joined the travel trend and published that he had endured a seven-hour flight “without a phone, without sleep, without water, without food,” and that it had been “easy.”
Earlier this month, a man posted on Instagram that he had just achieved his “personal best“: make a 13 and a half hour flight between Shanghai and Dallas. Are above all los men and the famous those who join the ‘raw-dogging’ trend, which now refers to everything that is done without protection or support.
Why do men ‘raw-dogging’ on long flights?
“It conveys a message about mental strength and the self-disciplinewhich have historically been considered masculine traits“Dr. Gurpreet Kaur, online clinical psychologist, explains to ‘Euronews Travel’.
“As the lines of masculinity in society become increasingly blurred and arguably threaten masculine identity, this trend may be more attractive to men.” men who want to affirm their masculinity through a sample of challenge and the endurance necessary”.
For these men, resisting their natural impulses is a show of strength and willpowerDr. Kaur speculates. “This, in turn, can validate their own sense of self and their position in society as alpha male“.
More generally, crudeness could also be considered a survival strategy in times of chaos, he adds. When there is turbulencesome of us focus more on a book, movie or song, but others have to look ahead until things smooth out.
Is it good or bad to fly like this?
Some have suggested that this form of flying is a good mindfulness technique, a kind of dopaminergic detox. But the experts They are not so sure.
“Mindfulness in distracting environments, such as airplanes without noise cancellation, may not be the best way to experience mindfulness“says Dr. Kaur, who specializes in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a mental health treatment that helps people process trauma.
“There is a reason meditation is encouraged in quiet spaces. Mental health professionals encourage moments of mindfulness, but raw-dogging is not a ‘moment’, as it is a considerable amount of time“. Whether or not it counts as a mindfulness exercise also depends on the motivations of the person doing it. Some questions that Dr. Kaur suggests asking yourself are:
Is it to improve oneself or to obtain a external validation? Is it worth it and can other behaviors benefit you instead? Personally think about the advantages and disadvantages. What does it prove? How will others perceive you on the plane? How will it affect a child to see someone staring at the same place for several hours, for example?
Ultimately, it’s not something she advocates for in its current form, and especially not for those struggling with negative thoughts or mental health difficulties. “The mind and body are interconnected,” adds Kaur. “Although the mind can be controlled for long periods, the impact will be felt physicallywhich will cause a sequelae of exhaustion both physical as mental“.
Other health professionals have stressed that against medical advice. “The risk of long haul flights is that you run the risk of dehydration“Dr. Gill Jenkins, a general practitioner who also works as a medical escort in air ambulances, told the British BBC.
“If you don’t move, you run the risk of suffering a deep vein thrombosiswhich is aggravated by dehydration. Not going to the bathroom is stupid. “If you need to go to the bathroom, you need to go to the bathroom.”
