What is the fundamental reason that prevents scuba diving from becoming popular?

[El Diablo]

Alot of y'all have expensive hobbies. I tend to think we on this board have more disposable income than average. Most folks have cheaper hobbies

Aside from scuba, my hobbies are cheap. I like to play hoops - the cost is sneakers and a ball. I like to hike - cost is gas $ only. I like riding my bike - that cost $500 (admittedly, I could have bought a more expensive bike), but there is little continuing cost.

Compared to many popular hobbies out there, scuba is definitely cost prohibitive.

Its also is the only hobby of mine that required prior training before I undertook it.

'Most folks have cheaper hobbies'... that's a HUGE statement based on...?

 

[El Diablo]

That's true.
But if you look at the number of beginners in those all other sports or activities, such as offroad motorbikes, offroad bicycles, downhill, parachuting, parafly, alpine ski, water ski, windsurf, kayak, horse riding, etc., you see that all of them are declining, year after year.
Most people nowadays are not attracted by these outdoor activities, involving some risk, requiring proper training and skillness, and some decent physical fitness. These have been replaced by videogames, social networks, and more "soft" real-world hobbies such as photo, video making, sound recording, playing music, drama theater, etc.
It is a cultural shift, and I do not see any way to bring back the world.

I tend to agree on the electronics taking over, Einstein said it.
Most kids I know, want to be YouTubers... my generation was all about going out, playing outside, getting hurt. We didn't had cellphones.

I also mentioned in a previous comment that when referring to cost, diving is competing with iPhones amongst younger folks

 

[Belzelbub]

1. The original OP question was why not more people is inclined to join Scuba Diving. Some folks replied that COST is the main reason, I DISAGREE. Your statistics are proving exactly that, that the av. income is quite good.

I'm not sure I'm following your reasoning here. The demographics of Open Water divers posted indicated average income was around $100-$150K. This is significantly over the US median income, so would be considered good. This is the income level of people that do take up diving. For these divers, I would agree that cost is not a factor, as they have higher income than most. I don't think we can apply those same numbers for people that don't take up diving. For those, it's quite possible that cost is a major reason for not pursuing the hobby.

 

[EFX]

Nah..... you can always make a CESA and live...

It depends. From inside a cavern or cave maybe not. Besides, the air at the surface is a backup. I said "without a backup".

 

[EFX]

I tend to agree on the electronics taking over, Einstein said it.
Most kids I know, want to be YouTubers... my generation was all about going out, playing outside, getting hurt. We didn't had cellphones.

I had two kids that not only had different personalities but different interests. One of the kids was extroverted and loved to be with his friends outside doing various activities that were more consistent with an older generation. When he was young and we needed to punish him he had to stay inside and do his homework which he hated. The other one was introverted and loved video and computer games and had very few friends. When we punished him we told him he had to go outside without any kind of electronics which he hated immensely. After about an hour he was pounding on the door asking to come inside.

 

[Chavodel8en]

'Most folks have cheaper hobbies'... that's a HUGE statement based on...?

Personal experience and common sense. The folks I encounter at pick-up hoops, like I said, all they need to participate in this hobby is a pair of sneakers - and alot of those sneaks are in bad shape. The folks I see hiking dont seem to be carrying expensive equipment either - I dont see alot of cameras or binoculars, just folks taking in the great outdoors. I wont bother to google it, but I'll assume there are way more hoopers & hikers than scuba divers out there.

If you want data, the median household income in the US was $67,000 in 2020. Most folks in the US are barely scraping by. Compare that to the demographic info CuzzA posted about OW students, who have more disposable income. I can tell you that when I was younger and poorer - comparable to the median US income - getting into scuba was cost prohibitive. Hoops, hiking and biking was more accessible. Only when I started making more $$ did scuba become more viable for me.

Maybe its different in other countries, but I doubt it.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have two sons with young families. Both can afford scuba diving, but neither does. They have other activities in which they participate enthusiastically, and those activities are at least equally expensive. I certainly have no grounds to criticize their choices, just as they have no grounds to criticize mine.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm not sure I'm following your reasoning here. The demographics of Open Water divers posted indicated average income was around $100-$150K. This is significantly over the US median income, so would be considered good. This is the income level of people that do take up diving. For these divers, I would agree that cost is not a factor, as they have higher income than most. I don't think we can apply those same numbers for people that don't take up diving. For those, it's quite possible that cost is a major reason for not pursuing the hobby.

You may be right, but I think it's really hard to figure how big a part cost plays in it. Yes, you're talking a fair bit of initial investment-- OW course (that's all you really have to take, though we all recommend everyone get Rescue), buying all your own equipment (renting may be OK at first to see what you like, but is way more costly over time unless you dive once yearly).
After that, costs are minimal-- fills, annual equipment costs (visual, hydro, reg every 2-3 years, etc.). We'll never know how much of a factor money truly is.

 

[Belzelbub]

You may be right, but I think it's really hard to figure how big a part cost plays in it. Yes, you're talking a fair bit of initial investment-- OW course (that's all you really have to take, though we all recommend everyone get Rescue), buying all your own equipment (renting may be OK at first to see what you like, but is way more costly over time unless you dive once yearly).
After that, costs are minimal-- fills, annual equipment costs (visual, hydro, reg every 2-3 years, etc.). We'll never know how much of a factor money truly is.

True, really the ones who can answer that are the ones who want to dive but haven't taken the plunge, and I don't think we'll find many of them on this site. Cost may be a bigger factor in them. The significantly higher than median income does at least appear to support that those people have a bit more disposable income to support this hobby. Not always the case, I know. People of all income levels can have a lifestyle that is above their means.

It does have a higher cost of entry than many other outdoor activities, though probably not the highest. Hiking, fishing, kayaking are all activities that you can get started with with a much lower initial investment. I do those as well, but if I had to give up all but one, I'd keep diving. When I'm out on the water for other activities, I find I really want to get underwater.

Agreed on the renting when starting out, but that presents another barrier. Now, I need to plan farther ahead. I need to make sure I can reserve a set of gear and tanks, get to the shop the evening before (for morning dives), and also plan to return the gear the next day. When owning, you have quite a bit more leeway on that. My cylinders are all currently full, and ready to go.

 

[DiveProKoko]

...The demographics of Open Water divers posted indicated average income was around $100-$150K. This is significantly over the US median income, so would be considered good. This is the income level of people that do take up diving. For these divers, I would agree that cost is not a factor, as they have higher income than most. I don't think we can apply those same numbers for people that don't take up diving. For those, it's quite possible that cost is a major reason for not pursuing the hobby.

Cost may be a factor, but is the $100-150k threshold in the survey for NEW divers seeking certification? I got certified in 1998 and had a landscaping job at the time. I bought my own gear, dived locally and took a few drives down to the Keys and had a blast, but I was pretty broke. We also dove on the occasional vacation. Cheap ones...to Mexico. Now I have an income that is significantly higher and is actually well above the average threshold given, but I'm also not a new diver, so what is the demographic? New divers or all OW divers? I also know that my OW students are often (I would argue mostly) students, service industry workers, and other "lower average income" earners who have a sense of adventure and love of the outdoors. Not poor, but not rich. They simply do what we/I did back in the day. They prioritize the sport over other things and make sacrifices to be able to afford it. As my wife says, "Cheap **** ain't cool, and cool **** ain't cheap!"