Wow! Someone has figured out how to market diving!

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Not sure how it is a problem for people to talk about the types of diving they like and the types of diving they don't? If anything, this thread has been quite constructive as it has resulted in divers posting about the different types of diving they enjoy and addressing pre/misconceptions - good discussion here and good info that will help folks make personal choices about the types of diving they may want to do!
Yeah, it doesn't have anything to do with diving. "Tribal," "inclusive," "diverse," it sounds like it's just SJW jargon that's so central to someone's ideology that they incorporate that analysis into every thing they see. Tribalism in diving? You already nailed what's skewed about that view. Having an opinion about what kind of diving one prefers isn't tribalism. It's diversity. Ironic.
 
My next wreck diving is SS Yongala.


It was a great dive and my first substantial wreck experience, years ago.

At one time, human remains were still visible through ports and damage from the 1911 cyclone and subsequent sinking; but I think that everything has now been moved to the interior, which was and is verboten to divers . . .
 
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Let me know how it is. I heard most of the divings are decompression dives.
I did Bikini in July and Chuuk a couple weeks ago. Bikini is all deco diving. Best bang for the buck-Chuuk. However I am booked to go back to both in the next couple of years.
 
The sport desperately needs a collective voice, and also needs to find an open, inclusive voice - otherwise operators will continue to go under, and not in a good way, and that means less diving for everyone.

I agree that the sport needs a collective voice. I often see and hear people talking bad about dive ops, divers, training agencies, etc. None of which is good for the sport.

Not sure how it is a problem for people to talk about the types of diving they like and the types of diving they don't? If anything, this thread has been quite constructive as it has resulted in divers posting about the different types of diving they enjoy and addressing pre/misconceptions - good discussion here and good info that will help folks make personal choices about the types of diving they may want to do!

Also, as much as I hear the sport is struggling, I don't see it in my personal travels - usually full boats all around! What I do see is a signifcant skew towards older divers - it seems that many in the younger generation are not as intersted in commiting to the sport. That said, my nicece and nephew were both recently certified and love diving warm tropical water. Both have zero interest in diving off of NJ - so a dislike of specific type of diving is not a barrier to entry to the sport!

I think this thread has become fun and does show the different types of diving people like and the passion they have for it. I also think the modern ago of instant gratification seen with the younger generation hurts the sport. They can do a DSD, get their instagram photos and move on to another thing.

Finding a way to lure this younger generation into diving and keeping them here is the challenge.
 
I agree that the sport needs a collective voice. I often see and hear people talking bad about dive ops, divers, training agencies, etc. None of which is good for the sport.



I think this thread has become fun and does show the different types of diving people like and the passion they have for it. I also think the modern ago of instant gratification seen with the younger generation hurts the sport. They can do a DSD, get their instagram photos and move on to another thing.

Finding a way to lure this younger generation into diving and keeping them here is the challenge.
I’ve tried to analyze for years why young people are not getting into the sport, and I have simplified it down to a few things.

When I was young scuba diving/skin diving was still a fairly young sport and was still in the public eye through TV shows and movies. We played outside a lot and built forts, we were more adventure seeking minded. There was a lot more physical involvement in everything we did since it was a manual/analog world. The boob tube was the big evil then (remember the phrase “kill your TV”?). I grew up without a TV so I was always outside.

These days the youth has grown up with numerous electronic devices, computers, video games, three D interactive games, virtual reality, and TV seems to be almost benign now compared to everything else that kills time. They spend a lot more time indoors and the mental activity stimulation has become much more abstract while they don't use their bodies nearly as much.

Diving is a physical sport. Combine the plight of todays youth with the fact that there is very little exposure anymore about diving on any media starting with TV and movies and you get what we have today.
Pretty simple.
 
I’ve tried to analyze for years why young people are not getting into the sport, and I have simplified it down to a few things.

One you missed was how protective parents are now. One reason kids are indoors with TV and Video games is that it is "safer" than playing out in the world. I think it is a false sense of security, and gives a child a rather skewed view of the world. There are children raised "old school", but the number and percentage decreases over time.

Also there is personal choice, my daughter was into rock climbing for quite a while before she had any interest in diving, and she was living in Santa Barbara. I don't know if it was the fact all the divers she grew up with were old (in her eyes), or we were just too crazy for her comfort level, could have been either.



Bob
 
Finances may play a role as well. I could not afford to dive in my twenties. When my first wife and I got certified, we bought two complete sets of used gear for $700. I spend more on diving each year now than I made each year during my twenties. :(
 
I’ve tried to analyze for years why young people are not getting into the sport, and I have simplified it down to a few things.

When I was young scuba diving/skin diving was still a fairly young sport and was still in the public eye through TV shows and movies. We played outside a lot and built forts, we were more adventure seeking minded. There was a lot more physical involvement in everything we did since it was a manual/analog world. The boob tube was the big evil then (remember the phrase “kill your TV”?). I grew up without a TV so I was always outside.

These days the youth has grown up with numerous electronic devices, computers, video games, three D interactive games, virtual reality, and TV seems to be almost benign now compared to everything else that kills time. They spend a lot more time indoors and the mental activity stimulation has become much more abstract while they don't use their bodies nearly as much.

Diving is a physical sport. Combine the plight of todays youth with the fact that there is very little exposure anymore about diving on any media starting with TV and movies and you get what we have today.
Pretty simple.


This is pretty darn accurate. I remember being outside and not coming inside until "the street lights came on" If it was summer and I tried to come inside my pops would yell at me and tell me to go outside and play.

We used to build bicycle ramps out of anything we could find and then use them to pretend to be Evel Knievel and jump over our friends who were laying on the ground. We were adventurous...and a bit dangerous.

These days kids are pasty white and only go outside if forced. Many are not forced because it is "safer" to keep them inside. Times have changed.

So how do we as an industry attract these pasty whit indoor kids and teens? Youtube and IG as well as TVs and movies can help but the content has to be geared towards them. Action/adventure stuff that is fast paced and inviting. What that looks like is beyond me but it is something I spend time thinking about.

So if anyone has any ideas and wants to partner up to try and create that content, I am in! Until then, we can continue to discuss it and maybe all of us here on SB can collectively find a way to attract the next generation of divers.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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