A psychologist has revealed what distraction-free flying says about your personality and why a ‘silent meditation retreat in the sky’ is a space for people to reflect on their problems.
Los Angeles-based Dr. Ramani Durvasula is a clinical psychologist and author of the “transformative guide” It’s Not You, which details emotional abuse.
Having previously revealed the various ways to spot a narcissist, the 59-year-old has now shared her insights into the latest travel trend that sees passengers passing the time in bizarre ways.
While speaking to DailyMail.com, Dr Ramani admitted that the TikTok trend was a way to “aesthetically” fly and shared why rawdogging could make you feel exhausted.
She explained that someone who eats rawdog could be a “mental introspector,” a person who has been “trained” to “zone out” from a young age.
A psychologist has revealed what rawdogging says about your personality (file image)
The practice known as “rawdogging” or sometimes “barebacking” means not consuming music, movies or any other form of entertainment except for basic flight maps or seatback flight data displays.
Taking it to the extreme, some also claim to give up food and drink for the entire trip.
In an interview with DailyMail.com, the psychologist spoke about who is more likely to consume rawdog and why they do so.
Dr Ramani Durvasula, 59, is a clinical psychologist who spoke to DailyMail.com about the travel trend.
The psychologist told DailyMail.com: “The reason isn’t entirely clear. There was a time when lots of people were rawdoggers on flights. There was no entertainment option, just a film on an overhead screen whether you liked it or not, and if you fell asleep you missed it. You could take a book or a magazine, but that was it (my mum, grandma and ex-mother-in-law were all first class rawdoggers – I can see now that I didn’t know there was a name for it).”
However, he noted that younger generations may do so for other reasons, specifically when they are contemplating a problem in their life.
‘I would speculate that someone’s why is rawdogging could be: poor preparation, exhaustion, some other emotional reason (something in a person’s mind that prevents them from concentrating), being content to just take in what’s going on around them, they could be an inexperienced flyer and taking it all in, they could be a nervous flyer, they could just be ultra-mindful, they could be someone who uses the time in flight when they can’t be reached to just clear their mind, maybe someone who is just able to calmly be (someday someone will have to do a survey of rawdoggers).
‘Nowadays, since TikTok is a trend, people can do it to post about it, and that’s something different, and it’s an aesthetic thing: sitting upright, no food, no drink, no entertainment, no reading; it’s like a silent meditation retreat in heaven.’
“The ban on eating and drinking is actually a smart thing – if you have a window seat or a middle seat and the seat belt sign is on and off, not having to use the bathroom is a blessing,” he added.
He noted that in addition to members of the older generation who traveled by air, those who were overwhelmed by problems tended to relax and avoid doing anything while traveling.
The practice known as ‘rawdogging’, or sometimes ‘barebacking’, involves not consuming music, movies or any other form of entertainment.
Dr. Ramani explained: ‘I would say maybe older adults who flew at a time when rawdogging was the norm, maybe people who fly basic economy or other forms of no-frills flying when you can’t bring anything on the plane, people who may be exhausted and overwhelmed by their lives, people who are good at it or tend to get distracted in general.’
And sitting around doing nothing during a flight has a lot to do with your personality, according to the expert.
She told DailyMail.com: ‘Some of the more likely reasons might be: tired, exhausted, mentally introspective, it could be someone who during their life was in situations (for example, repeatedly forced to go to long church services) that almost trained them to sit there and zone out, doing nothing else, someone who may be in a new situation where they are taking in a lot.
‘People who do performative rawdogging to say they did it and post about it, may just be people doing things to post about them; I think that’s different from “pure” non-performative rawdogging.’
And you might be wondering what someone is thinking on a long-haul flight? Well, according to Dr. Ramani, it could be a number of things.
However, it is more likely that someone is overthinking many of the issues in their life.
The psychologist explained: ‘They could be thinking about anything from absolutely nothing, to ruminating about things in their lives, or noticing what’s happening on the flight.
“Maybe some are meditating or doing some kind of mental or breathing exercise.”
But this strange trend may even be helpful for your mental state, as it can benefit your mind.
“It could be some kind of clever embodied mindfulness experience that allows you to clear your mind when you have nothing else to do,” Dr Ramani told DailyMail.com.
‘The white noise part really adds to that, and sometimes it can be frustrating to ‘do’ other things like work on a laptop with someone’s seat on your lap, so rawdogging can allow you to actually do some quiet contemplation and not just distract yourself from your thoughts or try to do impossible things like work in a cramped window seat.’
And while meditating in the sky may seem like the perfect way to pass the time, those who don’t practice mindfulness while rawdogging may be doing more harm than good.
In another TikTok, creator @cookestraveltok reveals that her mother is a fan of rawdogging
Dr Ramani added: ‘Some people may be procrastinating, for example a busy student who is travelling might be doing homework or assignments, or a business traveller might get ahead on some work so they can perhaps go to sleep once they reach a destination.
“If a person is going through a difficult time and they keep ruminating on it throughout that practice time and it leaves them distracted and worse, practice practice can be a place where that rumination just goes away, which can ultimately be quite uncomfortable.”
The psychologist also revealed that while rawdogging may now be a trend on social media, it has been around for a long time, adding that there was a time when women were its most likely candidates.
She told DailyMail.com: ‘I have to say that the people I know who did rawdogging were mostly women, and I wonder if for the women I know it was just a moment of contemplation – they had all been mothers and housewives in a time when no one cared what they felt or said.
‘(It was) a time (for them) to just sit, think, not think, but with no expectations of caring or doing anything; it could be the origin of rawdogging for some.
‘Some people are better at just ‘being’ and waiting patiently, and those are the people who seem to be cut out for rawdogging.’
Last week, dozens of videos of social media users rawdogging flights took to TikTok to share their experiences.
Many clips showed travellers with blank expressions staring into space. Meanwhile, superimposed subtitles boasted that they had completed the challenge.
Another TikToker, who calls himself @westwashereHe uploaded several TikToks where he shows himself doing ‘barebacking’.
He challenged others on the web to follow his example as he revealed how he “survived” long-haul flights by just looking at the map and wind speed.
Creator @cookestraveltok revealed that his mother was also a fan of rawdogging.
Alongside a clip of her father doing rawdog on a flight, she said: ‘My mother’s beige flag is that she does rawdog on every flight, no matter the length.
“Here she is on a nine-hour flight. No iPad. No headphones. No book. At least she’s comfortable! Come on, girl!”
Many people on the web were stunned and claimed they would never be able to participate in the challenge.