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

[Bigbella]

Good point, but also an example of the old adage 'Where you stand on an issue depends on where you sit.' I'm 53, so I was a kid in the time frame you're talking about. A few things different today...

That's all beyond the fact many of us live nowhere near the ocean, which is the main place most divers want to dive.

There is just a five year age difference between us.

I am not sure when you began diving, though you managed to find the time -- and you're correct, there are plenty of other modern distractions and expenses nowadays; but people, whether they can afford it or not, will often still blow wads of "discretionary" cash on some fairly silly pursuits, like a Groupon offer for falconry some years back (where a friend later received fifteen stitches at a local ER); or a former classmate, who blew close to 5K, that he could ill afford, on a fantasy baseball weekend, where he met Mickey Mantle, then riding high on his second liver.

Many of my friends do live inland, in country and abroad, and swear by lake and river diving. Most of my US ice diving was in central New Hampshire -- great fun; not an ocean in sight.

It will always be a matter of priorities . . .

 

[DanBMW]

It was an outdoor baby boomer sport that really took off with Mike Nelson and Sea Hunt. The baby boomers are now in their late 60's and 70's and doing other things...

 

[Th3B0Y]

I wanted to get certified since ~5 years. Never did it for these main reasons:
- Procrastination
- Thought I had to live close to sea -> I've found out there are diving clubs around my area
- Thought it was much more expensive than it is

I'm doing the OW course and plan on joining a club and go diving in my area on weekends.

 

[Cthippo]

I'd like to get into buying and selling used gear at some point, more as a hobby than anything, but as part of that I would like to help new divers get set up without spending the thousands I had to. One of the problems with used gear is figuring out what works with what and for a recently certified diver it feels like the only way to get a setup that will work is to buy new all from one manufacturer. I know that is not really the case, but figuring out of this second stage will work with that first stage and what about this inflator hose is a challenge.

I feel like in the old days there were more people to talk to and you might begin your journey at a dive club. Now the LDS is the only place to start for most people and so they aren't going to get told about their other options or have anyone to answer questions.

 

[El Diablo]

Yes, but having less time because you make more means you have less time for all hobbies, not just scuba. I think the idea of the thread is why there are fewer scuba divers say than skiers, or basketball players.
A side note is when I was assisting on OW courses, the vast majority of students were maybe between 18 & 28-- but that could be a local thing.

I agree and as I said before, IMO Time is the biggest factor.

If you compare Diving with Skiing, I believe the hassle is similar: you need to own or rent the gear and you need to dedicate the whole day to get somewhere, prepare (dress-up), enjoy the activity, come back and undress, etc. Going to play basket on the other hand, doesn't need much commitment not investment.

 

[Blackcrusader]

My dive buddy is in Egypt on a LOB and today just saw a deceased divers body being retrieved. Maybe too many dead diver stories put people off.

 

[Wibble]

How do deaths per dive compare with deaths per ski/skydive/football/cycle/motorbike?

Diving's pretty safe although you can't breathe water.

 

[Cthippo]

My dive buddy is in Egypt on a LOB and today just saw a deceased divers body being retrieved. Maybe too many dead diver stories put people off.

View attachment 720712

I have strong opinions about this, but this thread is probably not the place to go into them.

 

[Marie13]

There is just a five year age difference between us.

I am not sure when you began diving, though you managed to find the time -- and you're correct, there are plenty of other modern distractions and expenses nowadays; but people, whether they can afford it or not, will often still blow wads of "discretionary" cash on some fairly silly pursuits, like a Groupon offer for falconry some years back (where a friend later received fifteen stitches at a local ER); or a former classmate, who blew close to 5K, that he could ill afford, on a fantasy baseball weekend, where he met Mickey Mantle, then riding high on his second liver.

Many of my friends do live inland, in country and abroad, and swear by lake and river diving. Most of my US ice diving was in central New Hampshire -- great fun; not an ocean in sight.

It is always be a matter of priorities . . .

Yep. Priorities. I was certified in 2016. Met a guy who became a great buddy in 2017 for a while. I’m 53 now and he’s 5-6 years older than I am Really a natural at diving. Kept saying he wanted to dive a famous deep wreck. I always rolled my eyes since other stuff had priority and he never dived very much. I’d be surprised if he had 100 dives. Anyway tells me the other day he’s getting back in shape, etc. I don’t think he’s dived at all for the past 4 years. I told him if he’s really serious about it, he has to make it a priority. Dive his brains out. Going to have to go CCR for this goal. I just hope he doesn’t end up moving so fast and having an accident.

 

[Ana]

It's nice that you have your own boat and can go out when the weather is suitable.

Actually it is very nice, but it didn't just happened. Husband and I are in this situation by design.

We (husband and I) had several opportunities to accept offers to work in locations that were unfriendly to the type of diving we like.
These were positions with up to 3 times the income we were making at the moment. The last move, from the Panhandle to Pompano, included and early retirement for husband , and left me with a job description that some may say was beneath me. The 2 events causing a deficit in our income of about 60%... took me 5 years to get back to "close" to my 2017 income and I changed positions so I'm a hair closer to my perceived "status" , but still in the negative as far as money. Not many divers make this type of decisions, and that's perfectly fine.

It's funny you talk about cancelled trips for lack of other divers. That's the exact reason we decided to say F the dive industry. Being locals in Panama City Beach we would buy dive trips by the dozen, but being the backwards place that was, they didn't ask visitors from the square states up north for credit cards, so they came to the area the night before, got drunk and then didn't show up. Instead of charging those people for not showing, the dive shop response was to cancel on the 3-4 locals, over and over and over again.

That was around 2004-5, from that point our mission to dive as often as we wanted was on. It never occurred to me that it could be solved by depending on the industry or worse yet on other divers, my trust in people is so far in the negative it's difficult to describe.

Things turned out better than expected, but we left a few hundred thousands behind. Our retirement won't include fancy LOB's or trips around the world but we knew it. Was either higher income or what we have now. We are good diving our backyard almost every week. Granted Pompano diving is just horrible, a terrible place that everyone should stay away.
For me, the less people in the water the better, reading the thread on the BHB makes me sick ... divers trampling seahorses. and we want more divers?? nah. I don't know what is the answer but more people sure isn't.