Dumb just keeps getting dumber

When I first heard about the raw-dogging on airplanes trend, my first thought, quite naturally, was ewwww. The very idea of joining the mile-high club was disgusting enough. Who wants to have sex in a cramped and none-too-clean airplane toilet, especially when everyone on the plane knows what you're up to? Did we really need the additional bit about rawdogging (i.e., going at it without using a condom)?

Turns out my definition of raw-dogging just wasn't up to date.

Turns out, it's become something of a Swiss Army knife term "used for anything being done wihtout protection or support."

And one of the most trendy of the raw-dogging activities is (mostly) young men spending time on long-haul flights "without any in-flight entertainment, films, books or music." 

“Just raw-dogged it, 15 hour flight to Melbourne," boasts Australian music producer Torren Foot on TikTok, blinking hard as if to stay awake.

"No music, no movies, just flight map."

Some also avoid eating or drinking. A few say they won’t get up at all, even to use the toilet. (Source: BBC)

Well, I've never been on a 15 hour flight. I think 8-9 is my max. And I've certainly done long haul flights without music or video. But I do need something to read. I do like the flight map - so Zen. And there's no way I'm on a flight that's much more than an hour or two without downing some water AND making a trip to the cramped, none-too-clean toilet.  

But sitting through a long flight, just staring ahead, has become some sort of finding-my-alpha-male-crucible for men looking for a tough challenge. 

One fellow who stepped up (sat down?) to meet the challenge was a Man City footballer named Earling Halland, who:

...recently joined the trend, posting that he had got through a seven-hour flight with “no phone, no sleep, no water, no food” and had found it "easy".

Is it just me, or does Earling Halland - who's in the picture there - look like an AI? Just saying. 

Anyway, it's become a thing, and things with respect to in-flight raw-dogging have quite naturally made  their way to TikToks of "mostly athletic-looking young men"

....staring at the in-flight map or the safety instructions card, vowing to use the “power of the mind” to get them through.

Seems like it may not be the healthiest thing in the world to do.  

“They’re idiots,” says Dr Gill Jenkins, a GP who also works as a medical escort in air ambulance work. “A digital detox might do you some good, but all the rest of it is against medical advice," she says.

"The whole thing about the risk of long-haul flying is that you’re at risk of dehydration.

"If you’re not moving you’re at risk of deep vein thrombosis, which is compounded by dehydration. Not going to the toilet, that’s a bit stupid. If you need the loo, you need the loo."

Others take a kinder, gentler view, opining that it's good to take a break from always on, to take the opportunity to just sit there and think. Or stare at the flight map. 

Business psychologist Danielle Haig believes the raw-dogging trend provides:

"...an opportunity to recharge mentally, gain new perspectives,” she says.

She thinks the trend signifies “a collective yearning for balance as people seek to reclaim their mental space and foster a deeper connection with their inner selves”.

And she reckons that raw-dogging allows young men, in particular, the chance to showcase their ability to handle solitude and discomfort with stoicism.

One thing to do without videos, music, or a good (or even a bad) book for 10-15 hours, but you have to be nuts to put your life at risk by not staying hydrated and setting yourself up for deep vein thrombosis. 

That's just dumb. 

But, alas, dumb just seems to keep getting dumber all the time.