Exclusive: My Up Close & Personal Experience With Inflight Rawdogging

by SharonKurheg

When I first heard about inflight rawdogging, my immediate thought was, “OMG, this sounds ridiculous. What a waste of time!” But after reading about it, I was intrigued.

A newer TikTok trend, in-flight rawdogging (a.k.a. raw dogging or raw-dogging) means going through an entire flight without any form of entertainment or distraction: no phone, no tv, no books, no music. Some even go as far as to forgo the free snacks. Yep, not even Biscoff Cookies!!!

@dailymail

A new travel trend where passengers ‘raw-dog’ their flights is leaving people speechless. However – there could be more to the trend than people originally assume. #flight #travel #map #plane #men #viral #challenge #video #viralvid

♬ A mysterious scene of the near future like Blade Runner(994826) – The Structures

Since rawdogging isn’t dangerous like other TikTok trends (such as this TikTok hack that could get you banned from the airline, or this one that could potentially get you killed), I decided to give it a try. I would consider it my efforts to save the world.

The experiment location

My experiment was done on a flight from MCO to AUS on an American Airlines 737, in seat 14C. To my right was the guy who lucked out and got THE LAST empty seat on the plane, when the original passenger was a no show (“lucky guy” flew standby). To my right, across the aisle, was a young mother with a baby.

Preparation phase

I made sure everything was stowed, and, as I always do, I watched the flight attendant’s safety instructions. And then the rawdogging began.

The experiment

Note: I followed almost all of the “rules” of rawdogging. However, I did take photos for the sake of better showing the timeline of the experiment. After all, this was for SCIENCE! 😉

I got comfy, kept my eye open and just stared into space. Or, in this case, the camera. Forgive the humid summertime airplane hair and instead look at the guy over my shoulder, sleeping.

a woman smiling at the camera

This was my usual view.

a seat with a sign in it

Although sometimes the view changed a little

a person's hand on a luggage compartment

I’d sometimes look in different directions.

a woman sitting in a chair

And occasionally looked in the aisle to see the different examples of manspreading.

a group of people sitting in a row of seats

When the flight attendants came around, I got a different view for a moment.

a woman standing in an airplane

But no food or drink for me – the code of rawdogging specifically says you can’t eat or drink; just sit there.

And sit there I did.

After a while, I started to get bored, but I reminded myself to stay strong. And I’m proud to say I did.

After 2 hours, the flight was over, and my rawdogging experiment was over.

CONCLUSION

After 2 hours of rawdogging, I think I can say I’d now be considered an expert at it. And with that expertise added to my list of things I’m good at (it’s a very short list), I can truthfully report that rawdogging is a total waste of time.

Not recommended.

a woman taking a selfie

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary

11 comments

SM4 July 15, 2024 - 4:40 pm

This trend is absolutely just as stupid as eating detergent. The detestation of society. A bunch of fools staring into space sounds about right.

Reply
SharonKurheg July 15, 2024 - 4:42 pm

Agreed…just as stupid, but not as dangerous. Me, I did it for Science. 😉

Reply
derek July 15, 2024 - 5:39 pm

I have done it but engaged in deep thought. It was not pure rawdogging because I had paper and pen to jot down some ideas.

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Christian July 15, 2024 - 8:59 pm

I think it’s extremely stupid but if someone wants to sit quietly, not recline, and leave everyone else alone I’m in favor of the idea.

Reply
aaway July 18, 2024 - 5:00 pm

Let’s see….I’m someone 6’0″, or taller. I’m seated in economy on a flight that’s at least 2.5 hrs in length. The pitch of the seat I’m assigned to is 30″. As a result of the confined space, I attempt to find a bit of comfort by adjusting a leg into the aisle.

I’m manspreading.

Author sounds misandrist.

Reply
SharonKurheg July 18, 2024 - 5:06 pm

Hi! I’m Sharon and the author. FWIW, I’m not misandrist at all. But funny you should only focus on that one sentence and photo in that entire post, which is about Rawdogging, not manspreading (I have an entire post about manspreading, if you’d like to read it). Regardless, FWIW, my husband is 6′ tall as well and he manages to sit in those same seats, for upwards of 5 hours, and not manspread.

Maybe you’re just doing it wrong. ÂŻ\_(ツ)_/ÂŻ

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Elena July 18, 2024 - 5:23 pm

I don’t have TikTok so that’s the consideration its antics deserve. Now, having said that, this “rawdogging” sounds like a mini-fasting, which is good for the body, the mind and the soul (should extend for at least 24 hours and add water, dehydration is no fun). It’s a time for cleansing and introspection.

(Comment redacted by YMMV to remove portion that is against YMMV’s requirements for approval)

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SharonKurheg July 18, 2024 - 5:36 pm

I don’t have a TikTok account either; you can still watch TikTok videos if you don’t have an account.

Reply
PeacefulAntiMasker July 18, 2024 - 5:43 pm

This is the norm for us poor people traveler.
Flip phone.
No social media.
Sandwich/wrap and snacks made at home and ate in the airport.
Refillable water bottle.
Read a book.

Reply
TH Robinson July 18, 2024 - 9:05 pm

(Comment redacted by YMMV to remove portions that were against YMMV’s requirements for approval. Which, in this case, was all of it. Whomp whomp)

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OzMan July 19, 2024 - 2:00 am

When I first heard of raw dogging, it was being done on trans-atlantic flights. With all due respect, two hours is easy, even I could do two hours. 😉 But the idea of flying an international flight (say Dallas to Sydney or Brisbane) like that is……no, just no.

Reply

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