‘Rawdogging’ has become an online buzzword in recent months, but now an expert is warning that the strange trend, which is mainly happening among male travellers, could be harmful.
This term refers to the fact that no form of entertainment is consumed during a flight, apart from the basic maps or data displayed on the screen on the back of the seat.
Taking it to the extreme, some practitioners claim to not eat or drink anything at all during travel, even on long flights.
The trend became popular when a number of famous athletes, including Manchester City football superstar Erling Haaland, banned the flights with a heavy hand.
However, experts say it is dangerous to a person’s physical health and can even lead to death from deep vein thrombosis or dehydration. People who do it are “idiots.”
Haaland popularized the concept when he posted a photo of himself on social media sitting in a business class seat on a plane, looking pale and almost robotic.
‘Just raw through a 7 hour flight. No phone, no sleep, no water, no food, just a map #easy,’ wrote the 24-year-old Noor.
However, nutritionist Toby King said raw dog eating increases the risk of blood clots, which “can break off and cause a blockage of the arteries in the lungs, which is very serious and can even cause death.”
The first time most people became aware of rawdogging was when Manchester City player Erling Haaland (pictured) posted a photo of himself doing it
“This is one of the most dangerous trends I have seen on social media in a long time. Although it may seem harmless and funny at first glance, it can have deadly consequences. I would urge people to use their common sense when travelling,” he told the travel adventure website Inspire ambitions.
Dr Gill Jenkins, who works in air ambulance transport, didn’t hold back when describing the people who illegally log flights: ‘They’re idiots.’
She said avoiding the internet and social media during a flight could be a good “digital detox,” but the rest of it is against medical advice.
“The whole risk of long-haul flights is that you run the risk of dehydration,” she told the BBC.
‘If you don’t exercise, you run the risk of deep vein thrombosis, which is made worse by dehydration.’
The doctor, who is a general practitioner when she’s not working on medical flights, also has some good tips about the least tasty aspect of rawdogging.
“Not going to the toilet, that’s a bit stupid. If you have to go to the toilet, you have to go to the toilet,” she said.
Another young man who is popularizing this trend is Australian DJ Torren Foot.
“Just pushing through, 15 hour flight to Melbourne, counted to 1 million twice,” he boasted in a TikTok video, blinking hard as if struggling to stay awake.
‘No music, no movies, just an escape ticket.’
One of the commenters under his post kindly pointed out that he hadn’t actually counted to a million twice. He wrote: ‘More than 18 numbers per second during the entire flight is insane.’
Another wrote that it was ‘impressive enough that we had been able to execute the flight so well, we didn’t need the lie about counting’.
A team of travel experts from the travel website Net flights have also warned against this practice, as relaxing and sleeping during long flights helps reduce jet lag.
Experts say that not eating is not only ‘value for money’ (if the price of food and drink is already included in the ticket price), but can also cause ‘tiredness and extreme tiredness’.
“Flying can cause dehydration, which can result in headaches, dizziness and fatigue,” the website says.
‘Due to the low oxygen pressure during flights and the change in humidity, more water evaporates through our skin and lungs during flight. Therefore, it is increasingly important to stay hydrated and drink enough fluids.’
The experts also warned that the digital detox does not provide any benefits and may actually have the opposite effect.
“Passengers who choose to stare into space during a long flight may experience increased stress. With nothing to do, they may start thinking too much, which can spiral out of control,” the researchers said.
They also said that the onboard entertainment is there to be enjoyed, not willfully ignored for an endurance test.
‘For most passengers going on holiday, enjoying the flight is the start of the holiday, so it’s the perfect time to relax and enjoy the journey,’ according to the Netflights website.
‘We advise you to enjoy the flight and for ultimate happiness explore the inflight entertainment or do activities so that you can relax and get a well-deserved rest.’
‘Passengers who choose to stare into space during a long flight may experience increased stress because, with nothing to do, they may start to think too much and this can spiral out of control’
Sydney-based Elsa, who recently returned from a trip to Europe, finds the whole idea of rawdogging “weird.”
“Why would anyone want to do that? It’s not the ’90s, where you have to watch a specific film at a specific time,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘There are thousands of hours of movies and TV shows on airplanes now. I don’t see what anyone gains from staring into space for hours.
“Most of the people doing it seem to be Gen Z guys. Are they trying to prove how cool they are? It’s insane.”
