For generations raised on endlessly scrolling screens and constant notification sounds, sitting quietly doing nothing—colloquially called “Rawdogging Boredom”—is surprisingly becoming a popular new trend among Gen Z in the Western world.
A common sight is the challenge called “Rawdogging a Flight,” where people sit on long-haul flights for hours without watching movies, listening to music, touching their smartphones, or even drinking water or eating. They simply stare at the seat in front of them quietly.
Why do young people take on such a seemingly self-torturing challenge? Perhaps it is not just an internet joke trend, but a pushback against the exhaustion of constant stimulation from the “Attention Economy,” where algorithms are designed to keep us endlessly consuming media to feed ads and collect personal data.
There is scientific reasoning behind teenagers subjecting themselves to boredom. A 2023 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that teens spending more than four hours daily on screens are significantly more likely to have sleep problems, less physical activity, and higher rates of anxiety and depression.
This aligns with psychologist Gloria Mark from the University of California, Irvine, who said on the Speaking of Psychology podcast that human attention spans have alarmingly decreased in recent years. Many social media users adopting Rawdogging are thus trying to reclaim their lost focus.
Michael Dzwil, a social worker and senior director of proactive clinical services at Newport Healthcare, commented that in a digitally stimulated culture where constant busyness is expected, deliberately taking time to do nothing is deeply restorative. It’s not self-torture but a way to become comfortable with calm, let the brain reset, reduce stress, and regulate the nervous system.
Similarly, clinical psychologist Michael Wetter sees the Rawdogging trend as unsurprising. Young people are striving to reclaim what has become foreign to them: the ability to be alone with their own thoughts.
Of course, you don’t have to buy a plane ticket to stare into space every time, but the Rawdogging concept can be adapted into three practical survival tactics for daily life.
1. Intentionally remove stimuli.
Make it a daily habit, like riding the BTS without scrolling your phone, or walking to buy coffee without headphones playing a podcast, to give your brain space to rest and creativity a chance to return.
2. Build mental endurance.
Face discomfort or anxiety without immediately reaching for your smartphone to ease the feeling. This strengthens your mind so that when crises come, you can maintain control and not be easily unsettled by external factors.
3. Reclaim your attention.
Don’t let algorithms dictate your emotions, forcing humor, anger, or sadness daily. We should have clear boundaries about what we allow into our lives. Resisting stimuli might be one of the essential survival skills of the 21st century.
Thus, Rawdogging is not pointless self-torture but a method to protect our sanity—the core of humanity—in an endlessly chaotic world.
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