Rawdogging: why people are avoiding food, water and entertainment on long flights

On long-haul flights, most people read books, watch films and nibble on snacks. Others avoid any and all forms of entertainment entirely, except for watching the flight map.

Why? They’re “rawdogging” it. The term, borrowed from the slang for intercourse without a condom, has evolved to mean completing any activity without a buffer.

Some claim it gives them space to practise mindfulness, undergo a digital detox, or simply challenge themselves.

One TikTok creator tells GQ he felt “refreshed” after rawdogging a 20-hour flight from London to Bali. It gave him time to think creatively, he said.

The more extreme forms of rawdogging include refusing to eat and drink, or get up to use the toilet. But the people who do this are “idiots” because they ignore the real risk of long flights, which is dehydration, Dr Gill Jenkins tells the BBC.

Those in need of time away from screens can indeed ignore the in-flight entertainment.

Or they can just read a book.