SCUBA is seen by many, old and especially young, as a geeky, nerdy, goofy, overly nannified activity. The "Scuba Steve" persona. As well, SCUBA is expensive, most people do not live near an area with access to diveable water and therefore they lose interest or never have any interest in something they can do only once or twice a year in a far away place.
People look horrible in scuba gear, your lips poked out, the overweight rear of most large sized burger butts hanging out, goofy mask, compressed air, lead weights, everything weighs a ton. Compare that to snow skiing, sleek spandex, cool sunglasses, lips look normal if a bit chapped, lol, nah, just does not compare.
As well, boating is dropping off and so are a lot of outdoor sports like back packing. In fact, I read jogging was down, lol. I think Gen XYZ spends much more time on the computer than did the Baby Boomers and are less action and adventure oriented. No Fear, yeah right.
The biggest factor in the USA, the impending death of the Middle Class, no jobs, no money, no SCUBA. You have to build stuff, airplanes, cars, computers, televisions, refrigerators, toys, whatever, durable products, otherwise the clock spring will wind down.
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