By Lily Hodgson, Editor-in-Chief
If, like most of us, you frequent the online communities of TikTok (or Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Facebook Reels, Snapchat Spotlight… pick your poison, they’re all rotting our brains) you’ve likely come across recent trends revolving around doing nothing. Usually, these videos are captioned something like “rawdogging boredom” – spending a period of time, usually between five and fifteen minutes, doing absolutely nothing. No phone, no TV, no music, no napping – nothing at all.
Social media users have been quick to criticize in comment sections that this trend is not new at all. According to many, “rawdogging” is just meditation – something which has been practiced for thousands of years. There is archaeological evidence that Hindus have been practicing some form of meditation since around 5000 BCE, with other religious groups such as Buddhists picking it up a little later. (In the West, meditation became mainstream in the 1960s and 70s, as part of the counterculture “hippie” movement.)
So, are they right? Is this trend just a repackaged version of an ancient practice?
Actually, yeah. Mindful.org defines meditation as “a practice that involves focusing your attention (often via the breath) to cultivate mindfulness, calm, and clarity.” By this definition, the current trend can definitely be seen as a modern form of meditation. For traditional forms of meditation, the key is to focus on your breath and body sensations, and to gently push away any thoughts that come up, good or bad. While TikTok creators likely aren’t putting too much emphasis on these traditional methods, the act of disconnecting from the social world for a few minutes of complete silence is, at its core, meditative.
In today’s society, we are constantly consuming. I can’t remember the last time I did the dishes, showered or even brushed my teeth without playing music, a podcast, or a video. Even while watching a movie, many of us feel compelled to pull out our phones and scroll – literally, consuming multiple forms of content at once!
In an age where we are constantly taking in so many stimuli, it actually does our brains a lot of good to go completely quiet for a few minutes. Neuroscientists largely agree that boredom is great for your brain’s health. In fact, it is a necessary stage for critical thinking. Ever noticed how the people who are most constantly dialed-in to social media are the most gullible, ready to believe everything they see on the internet? Yeah. That.
So, is “rawdogging boredom” just meditation? Maybe. But rebranding meditation in a form that will get young people to do something that is actually good for our overstimulated brains is not a bad thing. So, whether you set a timer for ten minutes and look at the wall, practice a more traditional form of meditation, or even just connect with your body through exercise or time in nature, remember to take time to unplug – your neurons will thank you!