Gen Z has a viral hack to fix their attention spans. It may actually work.
Gen Z has a viral hack to fix their attention spans. It may actually work.
Charles Trepany, USA TODAYTue, March 17, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC
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Leave it to Gen Z to re-brand alone time.
There's a wellness challenge going viral on TikTok, and, despite its eyebrow-raising name, it has real benefits, according to mental health experts. It's called "rawdogging boredom" − and, similar to the viral travel trend of "rawdogging" a flight by doing nothing for the entirety of the time you're on an airplane, this trend involves allotting a specific amount of time to sit alone with no technology to distract you.
That means no phone, no TV and no music. Just you, your thoughts, and, well, your boredom.
Some of the videos of people squirming as they attempt the challenge have gone viral. Some commenters have pointed out the trend is not exactly revolutionary either. One commenter likened it to "Gen Z re-inventing meditation."
And you know what? According to Stephanie Sarkis, a psychotherapist who specializes in ADHD and anxiety, that is perfectly fine. Unplugging from technology to focus on mindfulness, she says, is rarely a bad idea.
"Anytime that we can unplug and just be in the present moment is a healthy thing," she says. "When we aren't doing something, and we're sitting just with our thoughts, it can really help us process things that have happened to us, process feelings. Especially if we're using devices to kind of avoid feeling things, which is pretty common."
Is TikTok, short-form content ruining our attention spans?
The erosion of our society's collective attention span via TikTok and other short-form video apps has been a running joke for a while now. And unfortunately, it seems to be true: Research has found short-form videos do negatively impact attention.
That doesn't mean you should never scroll through funny clips on your phone. But it does mean you should do so in moderation.
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More: Gwyneth Paltrow swears this form of meditation changed her life. So I tried it with her.
Sarkis says it can be good to balance the constant flow of technological stimulation with, well, intentional bouts of boredom.
"A lot of people have reached a saturation point with social media, and we're looking for ways to incorporate staying in the present moment," she says. "We know that mindfulness does have research behind it showing that it can help improve quality of life."
Plus, she says, processing feelings is an important life skill. Numbing yourself with technology can get in the way of that.
"Before we had social media, we did sometimes just sit and process things," she says. "That's a big part of life, is just not doing things."
How to meditate properly
So, how should one go about "rawdogging boredom"? Well, turning to some basic meditation principles can help. Here are some meditation tips mindfulness experts previously shared with USA TODAY:
Lose distractions and get comfortable. "Make sure that you’re in a quiet setting, free from distractions and that you wear comfortable clothing – you shouldn’t feel constricted in any way," clinical psychologist Juanita Guerra said.
Choose a specific period of time. "If someone is new to meditation, I suggest that they start small and begin with a short, simple practice," said Danielle Casioppo, a meditation, yoga and mindfulness instructor and coordinator at Yale University. "Try to set a timer for two minutes to start off because most people are not prepared to sit for 30 or 45 minutes in silence in the beginning."
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Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. "Sit comfortably and follow the inhale and exhale of your breathing. Then, when the timer goes off, end the practice," Casioppo said.
Increase the length of future meditation sessions until you find a duration and technique that works for you. "Repeat this brief practice throughout the day as needed and gradually increase the time as desired," Casioppo said. "It’s a learnable skill, something that takes practice and patience."
Contributing: Daryl Austin
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gen Z gives meditation a raunchy re-brand. Can it fix attention spans?
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
