WtF: The Decline in Scuba Participation

[TMHeimer]

In general I agree, but there was some good music created. And there was crap made in the 50s/60s/70s. I’m sure there is some good music being made today that will be remembered 30 years from now and a lot of the crap will be forgotten.

How'd we get onto (popular) music? ...
Best period: 1976- 1987.
Before that: basic rock not so good. Swing era great stuff to play. Before that-- Ragtime, etc. who cares.
After cerca 1987: Mostly crap up until & including present. Plenty of rhythm, dancability, etc., boring chordal structure, melodies that go nowehere. Disco without the upbeat melodies. Rap, Hip Hop, even ballads since 1987 suck. Now, anyone want my take on classical (serious)? OK then I'll stop.

 

[Centrals]

How'd we get onto (popular) music? ...
Best period: 1976- 1987.
Before that: basic rock not so good. Swing era great stuff to play. Before that-- Ragtime, etc. who cares.
After cerca 1987: Mostly crap up until & including present. Plenty of rhythm, dancability, etc., boring chordal structure, melodies that go nowehere. Disco without the upbeat melodies. Rap, Hip Hop, even ballads since 1987 suck. Now, anyone want my take on classical (serious)? OK then I'll stop.

Off topic:
List of deaths in rock and roll (1970s) - Wikipedia
Quite a list.

As for SE Asia, scuba diving is actually booming over last 10yrs because of the economy situation in china and Korea. But I do notice the decline of Japanese divers probably for the opposite reason.
There were a lot of Russian for a while and then probably because of the sanction, their present has been drastically reduced.

 

[pauldw]

Off topic:

List of deaths in rock and roll (1970s) - Wikipedia

Quite a list.

It doesn’t say how many of them died diving, and if they weren’t divers, why not?

 

[dead dog]

Wait a minute. Gen X is too small and too late to have changed anything.

It's clearly all the boomers fault.

Like I said blame it on your parents.

 

[lowwall]

Like I said blame it on your parents.

They were Silent Generation (1928-1945), not Boomers.

You know, the ones that created all that great music the Boomers got to experience firsthand like Elvis, the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, Bob Dylan, the Doors, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, (half of) Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, CCR, James Brown, Little Richard, the Beach Boys, Lou Reed, Buddy Holly, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Marvin Gaye, Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, Janis Jopin, Bo Diddley. (Somebody stop me....)

 

[Marie13]

I just turned 53. We should start a Gen X club with @drrich2.

But those 50 year-olds in 1986 had a valid point, the music of our day was kind of crap compared with the previous 30 years.

I’m 52.

To piggyback on another post, my parents were Silent Generation (1941-42). My best friend from high school’s dad was actually a World War II vet - and she was a year younger than I was!

 

[Centrals]

They were Silent Generation (1928-1945), not Boomers.

You know, the ones that created all that great music the Boomers got to experience firsthand like Elvis, the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, Bob Dylan, the Doors, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, (half of) Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, CCR, James Brown, Little Richard, the Beach Boys, Lou Reed, Buddy Holly, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis. (Somebody stop me....)

Joni Mitchell, Neil Young.....

Please go on but the MOD might stop you!

 

[Stoo]

The next few years are likely going to be horrible for the industry. Travel is such a big part of diving... right from new course attendees, to SCUBA and photo gear sales. This pandemic is far from over in most of the world, so relaxed global travel is unlikely to be seen again for several years.

So on top of all of the other challenges facing the industry, I have a bad feeling that the worst is yet to come.

 

[ginti]

It is on topic. Minimum wage has NOT followed inflation or the cost of living or tuition. When I was in university (1989 - 1994), it was possible (some of my roommates did it) to work 20 hours per week and get by with paying for tuition and room/board. There's just no way to do that today without amassing a lot of debt. As diving locally requires a car, that's another hurdle. The compartments (ahem apartments) I see being built these days in parts of Seattle just don't make storage possible.

Diving just isn't as easy when starting out today as it was for me when I finished university in the mid 90s.

I'm gen X. In the US, my generation and previous generations, have screwed over millennials and gen Z in the US with letting a system go unchecked. And I have absolutely no practical suggestions on how to address this.

This isn't a rant, but my observation, and it is relevant to people getting into diving. There are many sports that people can do at relatively low cost, though most activities, there is no limit to what one can spend.

Agree.

Anyway, here in Europe university is not a problem usually, but everything else it is (housing, low salary jobs, cars).

Now, even with a low salary (I would say around the median one), one can find a solution for a car: buy a very cheap second hand one. And, if you have a car, a solution for housing is to go living outside the big cities. In a couple of years one can even buy a full set of scuba gear and dive quite a bit.

However, young (and single) people often prefer to live the big cities, which means high rent -> no money for the car -> no money and no means for diving

And yes, when I think that previous generations like the one of my parents screwed up my life I get so much frustrated

 

[Centrals]

The next few years are likely going to be horrible for the industry. Travel is such a big part of diving... right from new course attendees, to SCUBA and photo gear sales. This pandemic is far from over in most of the world, so relaxed global travel is unlikely to be seen again for several years.

So on top of all of the other challenges facing the industry, I have a bad feeling that the worst is yet to come.

Wait and see since last Mar.
Holiday is right down in the pecking order fro me at the moment.
Hope the vaccine can turn the corner. Wait and see!
I am lucky the situation is NOT too bad locally compare with others eg. Ontario. Good luck.