How to Engage Younger People in Diving?

[JPipes]

Well put once again Rich. I know in East Texas there are people that have not left the state, something like a cruise lowers the barrier to more people. Debate that impact how you will, I would not rather build an exclusive club.

A cruise is one way to take the family, provide entertainment for them while going diving. Others can explore at their will or even stay on the boat. I went last year and already have this year on the books.

 

[divinh]

5. Meet like minded people, travel to exotic places, and post the pictures

But please not the promotion of "selfies"... I've had divers in my group swim in front of my camera so that they could get a "selfie". I just wanted a photo of the manta or turtle. I've also seen one diver tap on a turtle's shell with a reef hook to provoke it to swim away so that he could get a photo with the turtle while it was swimming.

 

[Jcp2]

I have nothing against selfies as long as they are not intruding on others and done safely. It’s one new way of telling stories. I’ll give a high five to the first member that gets one of the Kardashian clan to put a scuba dive on their account. Lots of new students after that, I’m sure.

 

[drrich2]

A number of celebrities dive. The guy who played Damon on the Vampire Diaries? I saw him in a photo in some scuba-related thing. Former Vice President Al Gore got a scuba certification at the quarry in this area, Pennyroyal Blue Springs Resort (Hopkinsville, KY). Maybe publicizing that diving is an interest of some celebrities would draw more interest from some people.

Just guessing...I've long been a do-my-own-thing eccentric, but I hear aping the 'cool kids' is important to some people.

 

[Marie13]

My shop (DRIS) actually puts any OW student that wants it into a drysuit for their quarry checkout dives. You get an initiation session as part of pool sessions. Doing the drysuit specialty only means one extra dive and half off the specialty. Give people that taste of comfort in cold water from the beginning and there’s a good chance they’ll come back to it. They also promote the regional diving - weekend trips to Bonne Terre mine in MO and Mermet Springs quarry in far southern IL. I’m seeing more people taking advantage of the local offerings, even if just to keep up skills between warm water trips.

 

[chillyinCanada]

There are a couple of reasons I mentioned cruising.

1.) A number of families go on cruises, or people honeymoon, so it's a way to access good destinations some will be receptive to (and may have plans to do). My wife and I pursued certification for our honeymoon cruise in 2006. It's much easier to suggest on a fun cruise try diving, than woo someone in to get certified and take a dedicated scuba trip afar.

2.) It's a very friendly, easy way to get people out of their home comfort zone to take a little look around. Preparing for our cruise, I didn't even know the practical differences between planning to travel to/around the Caribbean vs. Europe. Had never been outside the continental U.S. Didn't know how long flights would be, what trips might cost, whether the 'natives' would speak English or a lack of my U.S. Constitutional rights would mean an inadvertent minor offense could get me imprisoned, whether a trip to Mexico could get my head lopped off by a Mexican drug cartel with a machete...

Seriously, I'm not making this up. Once you've traveled a bit a lot of that sounds face palm class silly, but for some people, there's just not that broader awareness. Cruising makes for an excellent bubble/security blanket to get out of your comfort zone...without having to really leave it.

Richard.

P.S.: In my defense, even back then, I was pretty sure cannibals weren't going to eat us. Pretty sure...

I just can't, in good conscience, promote cruising.

 

[caydiver]

I think this is a great thread. We would love to find ways to get young people more involved. Sadly I think the whole family dynamic has changed. My kids love (grown up now) always loved the water and snorkelled proficiently from an early age. Couldn’t wait to be old enough to dive. But that’s what our family did and it was something we shared. Now families barely seem to share a conversation over a meal. Everyone is on their phone. The need to be connected constantly to everyone else’s life seems to hamper their chance to actually live their own life! Giving up a couple hours without Instagram and the like is just unthinkable.

 

[chillyinCanada]

What about going where the kids go? They do still go out to movies, oddly enough. They go to concerts etc. Maybe some pop-up stores here and there.

 

[scubadada]

I'm with @caydiver

As my son and daughter grew up, my wife and I tried to give them experiences that would allow for future opportunities. They were strong, confident swimmers at an early age. The family participated in snorkeling, downhill skiing, backpacking, general world travel... Our son was certified at age 12 and has been diving for 22 years. My daughter was also certified at age 12 and has been diving for 18 years.

Last October, my wife and I took a 2 week trip to Bonaire. Our daughter was able to join us for 6 days and our son and his wife were able to join us for 6 days, with a few days of overlap. All four of us dived together for the first time since 2004, priceless.

I would hope that family dynamics still have a chance to influence future activities.

 

[dlofting]

The last few posts sound a lot like our family. We did lots of different activities with our kids as they were growing up trying to expose them to things they could do with their own families and/or continue as adults. We skiied, hiked, camped, pulled them on various devices behind a boat, swam and coached or helped out with a number of team sports. We didn't dive as it was not something we'd thought of, but looking back, I don't think we could have found the money or time to do it.

Fast forward to today and two of our four kids are certified divers. One took the courses with us 8 years ago and the other did it on his own while in Thailand. Both have dived with us on vacation, but neither go on vacation just to dive. They dive if the opportunity presents itself. Any gear they have has come from us in the form of Christmas or Birthday presents. They have a lot of other things going on in their lives and use any "spare" time for a variety of interests.

All my kids earn decent livings but they still have to pay mortgages or rent and, in some cases, provide for children. Spending on diving is just not a high priority at this time.

That said, we always take our grandchildren to the pool so they love the water. The two oldest have been introduced to snorkeling, mainly in the pool. We're planning a family vacation this year where the divers can dive and the grandchildren can snorkel. When it comes their time to consider certifying they'll be ready.