As typically one of the youngest (if not the youngest) divers on the boat, I agree with @DBPacific about things.
People my age have a finite amount of resources - this includes time as well as money among other things - if you want younger people diving, it has to appeal to them enough to be worth the cost in both time and money.
A lot of us don't make enough money to afford expensive hobbies - okay I get it, diving can be relatively inexpensive beyond the initial entry cost. I honestly question the wisdom of suggesting people rely on easy credit and go into debt for a hobby when those same people are scraping money to put gas in their beater cars so they can go to work, but maybe that's just me.
So let's assume someone has the credit available, or free cash saved up, or a windfall in a birthday card..whatever - they have enough money to get certified and maybe pick up a few essential items of gear. Why would they want to? What other things can they use that money for? What other hobbies (since we usually have our own interests by the time we have the money to start diving) may they prioritize rather than going for some unknown experience they may or may not like?
How often will they be able to dive in the future? What about people from landlocked areas that can't afford to take time off work (or school) on top of the cost of a dive trip?
Diving is honestly not marketed towards young people - it is shown as an expensive hobby requiring travel to exotic locations, but it is also shown as almost a glorified tour group - no adventure, no excitement, just follow the leader.
So how do you market this activity effectively to young people with limited resources and competing interests? First, I'd suggest actually listening when younger divers tell you what their concerns and issues have been, and listen to understand, don't listen to argue. If you want to know, stop telling us we are wrong.
Second, find a common interest.
Here, environmental concerns are huge. Here, people go snowboarding or hiking or backpacking using the bare minimum. People love mountain biking and bird watching and nature photography - why not start pushing underwater photography? Cave diving? Marine conservation? Use social media to show people the importance of the underwater world, and do it in a way that communicates that importance to them rather than in a way that says "come spend money" - the whole "spend money" aspect of advertising puts off a lot of people in my age group and mostly makes it less likely we will ever engage with whatever you are selling.
Show us an experience, not an ad for an expensive hobby. Show us why we should care about your thing more than whatever thing we are already doing.
Next, make it accessible. We don't have the time or money to take a lot of long trips throughout the year - local dive shops and clubs have had the most success engaging younger people by advertising local dive activities and showing how important and amazing these activities can be. Turn a lake dive trip into a three day campout involving a bonfire, potluck, and some lake diving at a local campsite area, or set up underwater pumpkin carving or easter egg hunting for upcoming holidays.
And probably the most important issue that people just can't seem to see: stop being patronizing. Stop telling younger people that their experiences are wrong or inaccurate - we know what we are dealing with, we live with it daily. Stop treating us like we are irrelevant on dive boats or trips, if we want a super minimal setup then that's what we want. If we have our gear set up in such a way as to pose a hazard, talk to us like intelligent individuals and ask us if there is a reason we have something set up in such a way - point out the potential hazards, but don't treat us like we are all idiots and not worth the tank of air we paid for.
The biggest turnoff for diving that I personally have had has been the attitudes of some older divers who act offended that someone my age would be on a dive boat instead of getting wasted with the rest of the spring break crowd. It's really not encouraging to be part of something when other divers won't acknowledge your existence and are snobbish and rude if they have to acknowledge you at all - nothing says 'we want to involve younger divers' like arranging for everyone on the dive boat to go get dinner after the dive but excluding the one or two people who are younger (and not because under 21 reasons, and not even tactfully done out of earshot).
This thread is a wonderful example of what I'm talking about in regards to how some older divers treat younger divers and how that treatment gives younger divers less and less reason to invest their resources (time and money) in a resource intensive sport - who would want to hang around when they weren't wanted?
On our last dive trip in Cozumel, we actually had a woman who was so hostile towards me that the dive op moved her to another dive boat. I never said a word to her except to let her know where her fins were after the captain put all her gear on the boat so she could climb on - I thought she'd want to know, given the chaos of a small but busy boat, but apparently that was enough to earn death glares and rude comments about my gear for the rest of the dives that day (along with her showing off her perfect buoyancy lotus pose drifting along - I just rolled my eyes and dove my own dive).
Happily, a lot of older divers have been either neutral and indifferent (I'm fine with this) or have actually been friendly and helpful - the owner of our LDS was actually a guest at my wedding and knows they are my first priority to get dive gear (because I care about their small business, because they are welcoming and kind and helpful). Other divers have gotten my attention so I could get photos of sharks, or have helped mentor me with gear arrangements, buoyancy, even photography (which is something I have a lot of experience in outside of diving). They also listen when I talk about my own experiences and seem to value my opinions and are willing to discuss those experiences and opinions without talking down to me. Yes, most of them have been diving longer than I have been around, but there is value in discussion even when you think you know it all already.
If I feel welcome and accepted in an activity that involves something I care about, I am more likely to expend resources to engage in that activity, particularly if engaging in said activity isn't limited to only 2 week LOB trips across the world.
People my age have a finite amount of resources - this includes time as well as money among other things - if you want younger people diving, it has to appeal to them enough to be worth the cost in both time and money.
A lot of us don't make enough money to afford expensive hobbies - okay I get it, diving can be relatively inexpensive beyond the initial entry cost. I honestly question the wisdom of suggesting people rely on easy credit and go into debt for a hobby when those same people are scraping money to put gas in their beater cars so they can go to work, but maybe that's just me.
So let's assume someone has the credit available, or free cash saved up, or a windfall in a birthday card..whatever - they have enough money to get certified and maybe pick up a few essential items of gear. Why would they want to? What other things can they use that money for? What other hobbies (since we usually have our own interests by the time we have the money to start diving) may they prioritize rather than going for some unknown experience they may or may not like?
How often will they be able to dive in the future? What about people from landlocked areas that can't afford to take time off work (or school) on top of the cost of a dive trip?
Diving is honestly not marketed towards young people - it is shown as an expensive hobby requiring travel to exotic locations, but it is also shown as almost a glorified tour group - no adventure, no excitement, just follow the leader.
So how do you market this activity effectively to young people with limited resources and competing interests? First, I'd suggest actually listening when younger divers tell you what their concerns and issues have been, and listen to understand, don't listen to argue. If you want to know, stop telling us we are wrong.
Second, find a common interest.
Here, environmental concerns are huge. Here, people go snowboarding or hiking or backpacking using the bare minimum. People love mountain biking and bird watching and nature photography - why not start pushing underwater photography? Cave diving? Marine conservation? Use social media to show people the importance of the underwater world, and do it in a way that communicates that importance to them rather than in a way that says "come spend money" - the whole "spend money" aspect of advertising puts off a lot of people in my age group and mostly makes it less likely we will ever engage with whatever you are selling.
Show us an experience, not an ad for an expensive hobby. Show us why we should care about your thing more than whatever thing we are already doing.
Next, make it accessible. We don't have the time or money to take a lot of long trips throughout the year - local dive shops and clubs have had the most success engaging younger people by advertising local dive activities and showing how important and amazing these activities can be. Turn a lake dive trip into a three day campout involving a bonfire, potluck, and some lake diving at a local campsite area, or set up underwater pumpkin carving or easter egg hunting for upcoming holidays.
And probably the most important issue that people just can't seem to see: stop being patronizing. Stop telling younger people that their experiences are wrong or inaccurate - we know what we are dealing with, we live with it daily. Stop treating us like we are irrelevant on dive boats or trips, if we want a super minimal setup then that's what we want. If we have our gear set up in such a way as to pose a hazard, talk to us like intelligent individuals and ask us if there is a reason we have something set up in such a way - point out the potential hazards, but don't treat us like we are all idiots and not worth the tank of air we paid for.
The biggest turnoff for diving that I personally have had has been the attitudes of some older divers who act offended that someone my age would be on a dive boat instead of getting wasted with the rest of the spring break crowd. It's really not encouraging to be part of something when other divers won't acknowledge your existence and are snobbish and rude if they have to acknowledge you at all - nothing says 'we want to involve younger divers' like arranging for everyone on the dive boat to go get dinner after the dive but excluding the one or two people who are younger (and not because under 21 reasons, and not even tactfully done out of earshot).
This thread is a wonderful example of what I'm talking about in regards to how some older divers treat younger divers and how that treatment gives younger divers less and less reason to invest their resources (time and money) in a resource intensive sport - who would want to hang around when they weren't wanted?
On our last dive trip in Cozumel, we actually had a woman who was so hostile towards me that the dive op moved her to another dive boat. I never said a word to her except to let her know where her fins were after the captain put all her gear on the boat so she could climb on - I thought she'd want to know, given the chaos of a small but busy boat, but apparently that was enough to earn death glares and rude comments about my gear for the rest of the dives that day (along with her showing off her perfect buoyancy lotus pose drifting along - I just rolled my eyes and dove my own dive).
Happily, a lot of older divers have been either neutral and indifferent (I'm fine with this) or have actually been friendly and helpful - the owner of our LDS was actually a guest at my wedding and knows they are my first priority to get dive gear (because I care about their small business, because they are welcoming and kind and helpful). Other divers have gotten my attention so I could get photos of sharks, or have helped mentor me with gear arrangements, buoyancy, even photography (which is something I have a lot of experience in outside of diving). They also listen when I talk about my own experiences and seem to value my opinions and are willing to discuss those experiences and opinions without talking down to me. Yes, most of them have been diving longer than I have been around, but there is value in discussion even when you think you know it all already.
If I feel welcome and accepted in an activity that involves something I care about, I am more likely to expend resources to engage in that activity, particularly if engaging in said activity isn't limited to only 2 week LOB trips across the world.
