Some travelers are ditching in-flight entertainment for nothing

A peculiar new travel phenomenon dubbed "raw dogging" flights has gone viral on social media, seeing passengers purposely forgo all in-flight amenities and distractions during lengthy journeys.

The trend involves travelers abstaining from food, water, entertainment, and even sleep for the entirety of their trip as a self-imposed mental and physical challenge. Flyers instead opt to spend the duration fixated on the aircraft's moving map display or simply staring blankly ahead into the cabin.

"I have never seen so many people raw-dogging a flight in my life," wrote Michelle, a New York-based beauty influencer, in a TikTok video capturing numerous passengers raw dogging a 5-hour flight from NYC to San Francisco. "Literally just staring straight ahead the entire time?"

The anti-indulgence phenomenon has been loosely credited to Idris Elba's character in the Apple TV+ series "Hijacked," where he's forced to endure a 7-hour Dubai to London flight without amenities after the plane is hijacked. However, enthusiasts claim raw dogging allows them to test their mental fortitude.

"Just raw-dogged a 7-hour flight (new personal best)," boasted UK DJ Wudini on TikTok. "No headphones, no movie, no water, nothing...The power of my mind knows no bounds."

Australian musician Torren Foot celebrated completing a 15-hour raw dog flight to Los Angeles as "the longest trip he's taken without rest or entertainment. No music, no movies, just the flight map."

The trend isn't limited to male travelers either. New Yorker Johanna Riehm, 34, revealed, "My beige flag is that I like to raw dog flights. I sit there in silence with my thoughts and just watch the little GPS plane."

Psychologists note that while challenging oneself mentally and physically can foster personal growth, the raw dogging approach is an extreme that could potentially induce negativity.