Gen Z grew up very online, but many say they’re tired of constantly reaching for their phones while their attention spans shrink. To combat their distractibility, they’re now learning to sit with boredom — or, as they call it, “rawdogging,” doing nothing. (Unless you want to explain what rawdogging means, maybe don’t send this story to your grandma.)
On TikTok, there are countless videos of teens and 20-somethings sharing their “rawdogging marathon” experiences: Doing nothing, with nary a phone in sight. (Well, unless you count the one filming them.)
Some Gen Z-ers are rawdogging walks (no music or podcasts, and only a phone in your pocket in case of an emergency). Others are really just sitting with their eyes closed for an hour or so with monk-like concentration.
If your attention span is cooked, you’ll try anything once, including doing absolutely nothing, said Ishaan Sharma, who goes by @sexyishaan on TikTok and posted about the trend.
“As a kid, I was able to read an entire book in one sitting. Today, I can barely read 20 pages without wanting to reach for my phone or some other device,” he told HuffPost.
Sharma said he’s constantly double-tasking: If he’s on his laptop, he’s also watching a movie. If he’s showering, he’s listening to music. It’s like his brain is permanently on 1.75x speed, and he blames his waning attention span almost entirely on the influence of social media.
“The algorithms are meant for you to have shorter attention spans and overload your dopamine receptors, and over time, it does an incredible amount of damage to your brain,” he said. “I genuinely think there is an entire generation of young kids who will have ADHD due to phones and social media that previously wouldn’t have had it.”
On TikTok, teens and 20-somethings are documenting their “rawdogging marathons” where they do nothing for long periods of time.
For Sharma, rawdogging simply involves focusing on one activity at a time: if he’s watching TV, he’s actually watching, not swiping through TikTok on the side.
“It’s actually been relatively hard to do,” Sharma admitted. “I always have that urge to check my pockets for my phone. I genuinely have to just put my phone in a different room and sometimes even turn it off to avoid thinking about it.”
You might be thinking, isn’t this just Gen Z’s rebrand of meditation? If so, Maggie Sibley, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, agrees with you.
“Deliberating, and mindfully, experiencing boredom is a long-standing mindfulness technique to improve attention,” she told HuffPost. “And there’s growing literature on the effectiveness of mindfulness techniques, including moving meditations like the ones Gen Z describe on TikTok, to help people with ADHD improve their attentional capacities.”
Rawdogging nature may be especially effective if you’re trying to improve your attention span, said Marc Berman, a neuroscientist and author of “Nature and the Mind: The Science of How Nature Improves Cognitive, Physical and Social Well-Being.”
“In my work, we have found that brief walks in nature can improve attention and memory by 20%,” he said. “Importantly, you don’t even need to enjoy nature interactions to get the cognitive benefits.”
Ippei Naoi via Getty Images
“Rawdogging” nature may be especially effective if you’re trying to boost your attention span.
Berman said it’s not about liking a hike in the woods or walking around the block; it’s about how our brains process natural stimulation, such as fractals (never-ending patterns that can be seen in nature, like snowflakes or tree branches), curved edges, and other natural patterns.
“We also think that being in nature helps to restore our ability to direct attention by having softly fascinating stimulation that captures involuntary attention, which is less susceptible to fatigue,” he told HuffPost.
It’s probably better to leave your earbuds at home.
“I think that it is important to go on the nature walk without headphones so that all of your senses and your attention can be captured by the softly fascinating nature stimulation,” he said. “There is some evidence to support this, and it is also likely better to go by yourself so that you can also be alone with your thoughts.”
Another benefit? Learning to experience boredom and respond to it thoughtfully often spurs on great bursts of creativity, said Heather Lench, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Texas A&M University.
“Boredom feels negative to experience, so people often seek ways to avoid it or eliminate it, but boredom creates drive to seek out new experiences and opportunities,” she said. “If you pick up a phone or binge-watch shows every time you feel a twinge of boredom, you miss out on the motivation it creates to try something new and different.”
Bella Dane, an influencer who’s been “rawdogging” boredom, said the biggest benefit has been more creative thought.
“Being bored also challenges you to ask introspective, existential questions that can make us uncomfortable, but when we take the time to truly reflect, we gain perspective and clarity,” she said. “You will have the most creative ideas ever when you allow the mind to be bored.”
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It’s the same idea behind how people have genius “shower thoughts” or come up with good ideas right before they go to sleep, Dane said.
Her advice is, if you’re going to give the trend a shot? It’s OK if you have to force yourself at first, even if it means setting a timer, as people do in some of the TikTok videos. Eventually, it starts to feel more natural and less like a self-imposed time-out.
“The ability to focus is enhanced by forcing the brain to focus,” she said. “Repetition rewires the brain.”
