Why aren't more people taking up scuba diving?

[Bob DBF]

If we take another example of the buggy cart, at one time everyone used it for transport, breeding strong horses and building buggy carts, whips and wheels was probably a good business, until someone invented the mechanical engine. I will bet the buggy cart industry did all they could to keep people buying and using buggies, but their time had gone, today it probably supports a small cottage industry for an exclusive market, maybe its a lot simpler than we believe, maybe we just need to accept scuba had its day but now its over, and we will go back to been a tiny cottage industry serving a small but exclusive market?

Only time will tell.

I think what replaced SCUBA was the widescreen color TV and YouTube. You can see all the pretty fish, go through a wreck or cave and your Cheetos stay dry.


Bob

 

[boulderjohn]

How many other sporting activities besides scuba have dropped off? Has anybody done any research to find out?

In one of these threads, maybe this one, I made a post about this. Here is an interesting activity anyone can do in a few minutes. Go to Google and put in the following phrase: "Decline in golf participation." When you do that, you will get a host of articles about the alarming drop in participation in golf, and the number of golf courses that have had to close because of it. Now go back to your search phrase and put in "tennis" instead of "golf." You will get the same thing. Then try almost any sport you can think of, including football, basketball, baseball....

It really looks like scuba is doing better than almost all of them.

 

[widget]

I think what replaced SCUBA was the widescreen color TV and YouTube. You can see all the pretty fish, go through a wreck or cave and your Cheetos stay dry.


Bob

Absolutely agree, TV's and smartphones, the mechanical engine of the present.

 

[kr2y5]

I think what replaced SCUBA was the widescreen color TV and YouTube. You can see all the pretty fish, go through a wreck or cave and your Cheetos stay dry.

I'm not sure I would agree... I suspect more folks try scuba because of something exciting that they saw on TV or on YouTube, rather than give up the thought of diving because they are no longer curious what's there, now that it's all been demystified. At least in my case that's true. If, as you pointed you earlier, people seek to be a part of a shared experience, then it shouldn't matter so much that they've seen it on TV. You could watch the football game on TV, yet many folks choose to buy a ticket... I think color TV and YouTube are an opportunity to capture new audience for the sport, rather than something that's about to bring about its demise. Besides, honestly... how long can you watch someone else's scuba diving video, it's pretty uneventful when you experience it as a passive observer.

 

[RJP]

I actually like this post, it makes very good sense. I would find it hard to argue against.

Thanks for asking the question that spurred it. Ended up becoming this week's blog post for me as well..

Single-Minded Messaging: What's the Point? ? AQUIS Strategic Marketing

---------- Post added December 10th, 2014 at 04:59 PM ----------

It really looks like scuba is doing better than almost all of them.

Which is great... unless you're in the scuba industry. In which case it doesn't matter how bad things are elsewhere.

:d

 

[boulderjohn]

Why people take up scuba diving depends to a large degree on where they live. I always ask my students why they are taking up diving, and the overwhelming majority speak of a coming vacation to a tropical resort area. I am sure that if I lived next to an ocean, I would get different responses.

 

[TMHeimer]

Why people take up scuba diving depends to a large degree on where they live. I always ask my students why they are taking up diving, and the overwhelming majority speak of a coming vacation to a tropical resort area. I am sure that if I lived next to an ocean, I would get different responses.

Absolutely. For 25 years in N. Manitoba scuba made no sense. And I didn't want to just dabble in it to get in some tropical diving. Nova Scotia is a different story.

 

[Hawkwood]

I grew up in Halifax but did not learn to scuba dive until I lived in Calgary.

 

[bradells]

I grew up in Halifax but did not learn to scuba dive until I lived in Calgary.

Similar here,

I grew up stones throws of 3 Great Lakes. Takes moving to Calgary ..... And driving/flying for 14hrs to go diving ....

 

[DKL]

Until Verizon puts towers underwater, most young people will never dive. They are completely under the control of their stupid phones and other electronics. I've seen them walk into doors, walls, each other, trash cans, and cars while mesmerized by the stupidity on their idiotic devices. Because they spend all their time on these ridiculous machines they are soft, mentally and physically. I've tried to get a few certified but their physical conditioning is so bad they cannot recover from a simple walk to the water with their dive gear on. Sad but true. The ones that do make it to the water, just whine about everything. Welcome to the new America....land of the fat and lazy.