If you’re planning on joining the “raw dog” trend on your next long-haul flight, you’d better be prepared for the surprising effects it may have on you.
The term “raw dogging” has been circulating on the Internet for the past few days, but not for the reasons you might imagine.
This follows a TikTok post from user “oiwudini,” in which he explained that he recently spent a seven-hour flight without headphones, water or a movie, adding that “my mental capacity knows no bounds.”
His confession divided social media users, with some expressing dread at the thought of sitting idle for hours on end.
While everyone has their own reasons, it turns out that spending extended periods of time away from technology can have its benefits.
Several comments emphasized the idea of a dopamine detox, with one in particular, “This is actually an insane dopamine detox,” receiving hundreds of thousands of likes.
What is Dopamine Detox?
A type of digital detox, a dopamine detox, involves abstaining from addictive technologies such as social media with the idea of taking a break from the repetitive patterns of excitement and simulation that technology creates.
The goal of this digital cleanse is to “recalibrate” your brain pathways to develop a healthier relationship with your phone and social media.
The term “raw dogging” a flight has divided opinion on the Internet. (Getty Stock Images)
Does a dopamine detox really work?
According to an interview with TIME magazine with Dr. Anna Lembke, professor of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine, it’s not that simple.
It’s important to understand that dopamine is a chemical that occurs naturally in the brain.
Dopamine’s primary function is to give us pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. It’s also involved in focus, motivation, and mood.
Consuming digital media can release dopamine, Lembke explained, adding that it “results in large amounts of dopamine being released in specific parts of the brain called the reward pathway.”
In contrast, the term “detox” suggests that it’s a bad thing that needs to be removed, which is not the case with dopamine.
It’s no surprise that getting away from our phones is beneficial for us. (Getty Stock Images)
When someone begins a “dopamine detox,” it’s not that the levels of dopamine in the brain decrease, but rather that their dependency on certain stimuli to get a momentary sense of happiness decreases.
Lembke’s comments highlight that, despite their misleading names, trends like “dopamine detox” and “raw dog flights” actually have benefits as they help change our relationship with “external stimuli.”
“We are constantly reacting to external stimuli, which means we are not giving our brains a chance to form ongoing thoughts or to be quiet enough to have spontaneous thoughts,” she added.
So sometimes there are benefits to sitting down and doing nothing.
