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

[Paradoxprophet]

I feel like the reason I did not attempt to learn scuba sooner was the cost and lack of local diving areas. Many of the people I have talked to among my friends and family seem to point to a lot of fear as well. My dad was stung by a man-o-war a couple of years before I was born. Ever since then he has never gotten in the ocean.

 

[rjgiddings]

I grew up in hell hole Bakersfield CA ( land locked, hot as Hades at 115 F , and very miserable) and moved to Seattle in 1995...so I took up scuba as soon as I could afford it.

 

[Mrs. B]

Thanks. I had no idea they were that inexpensive.

This one is 300 (my neighbor’s we borrowed for the dog)

This one is 4,000 new

I would say that’s about the range

 

[Mrs. B]

We looked at this yellow one (Germany alps)
today and it was around 5k (Kevlar and fiberglass)

 

[Mrs. B]

I feel like the reason I did not attempt to learn scuba sooner was the cost and lack of local diving areas. Many of the people I have talked to among my friends and family seem to point to a lot of fear as well. My dad was stung by a man-o-war a couple of years before I was born. Ever since then he has never gotten in the ocean.

A good question also: why do lifetime divers leave scuba diving?

 

[scubadada]

A good question also: why do lifetime divers leave scuba diving?

I will leave when I am no longer able

 

[Doctor Rig]

I first took training in mid-60s as a teenager (don’t recall any certification being offered) and bought equipment and played around with it for several years, and lost interest with no body to dive with. Took certification classes in the 80s and again in 90s but only dived a little on vacations. My biggest distraction was other sports that I could regularly do. Ultimately, I returned to diving when I couldn’t do any of my other sports in 2019, and loving it!

That’s the reason I came back!

 

[boulderjohn]

A good question also: why do lifetime divers leave scuba diving?

It's the same as with any activity.

• A lot of the decide they have gotten too old for it.
• Some people develop injuries that make it challenging to continue.
• People get a "been there; done that" attitude toward activities after a while.
• People start a new activity that draws their interest and leaves them less time for a former activity.
• Personal life issues get in the way (raising a family, moving for a new job, etc.)

For many it is a combination of the above. Here is a short autobiography:

• I was once an avid photographer, with a high quality camera, multiple lenses, and my own darkroom. Today my wife has to push me to take pictures with my iPhone.
• I coached high school basketball for 14 years. I coached in state championship games, and I was once selected to coach the state all-star game in the summer. I haven't watched a basketball game at any level in many years. I can't tell you who won the NCAA or NBA championships in the last decade.
• I had an "A" ranking in doubles volleyball, meaning I could not compete in "B" level tournaments. I preferred 6-man volleyball. I was an official with the professional volleyball league. I have not touched a volleyball in decades, and when I see a 6-man game today, I see that I don't even know the rules any more.
• I played a lot of tennis in my day. That ended with knee replacement. I have not owned a racket in 15 years.
• I was an avid skier, and I even competed in races. Knee replacement ended that as well.

At my age (72), it would not surprise me if diving came to the same conclusion. If it does, I will find something else to replace it, and I won't look back.

 

[Mrs. B]

It's the same as with any activity.

• A lot of the decide they have gotten too old for it.
• Some people develop injuries that make it challenging to continue.
• People get a "been there; done that" attitude toward activities after a while.
• People start a new activity that draws their interest and leaves them less time for a former activity.
• Personal life issues get in the way (raising a family, moving for a new job, etc.)

For many it is a combination of the above. Here is a short autobiography:

• I was once an avid photographer, with a high quality camera, multiple lenses, and my own darkroom. Today my wife has to push me to take pictures with my iPhone.
• I coached high school basketball for 14 years. I coached in state championship games, and I was once selected to coach the state all-star game in the summer. I haven't watched a basketball game at any level in many years. I can't tell you who won the NCAA or NBA championships in the last decade.
• I had an "A" ranking in doubles volleyball, meaning I could not compete in "B" level tournaments. I preferred 6-man volleyball. I was an official with the professional volleyball league. I have not touched a volleyball in decades, and when I see a 6-man game today, I see that I don't even know the rules any more.
• I played a lot of tennis in my day. That ended with knee replacement. I have not owned a racket in 15 years.
• I was an avid skier, and I even competed in races. Knee replacement ended that as well.

At my age (72), it would not surprise me if diving came to the same conclusion. If it does, I will find something else to replace it, and I won't look back.

For my husband and I, we did not like the ever increasing rules so we bought a boat and dived on our own and then when we left Hawaii we pretty much stopped diving.

So many things we do we have more freedom and it does not involve so many people telling us what to do/ not do, paperwork etc

If everything falls into place we’d probably dive again, we have gear, tanks.

 

[WouterB]

I have just started diving, having only my OW and about 13 dives done. I have my own gear and really like it so far. If anything would cause me to stop eventually it is the grind of driving to the divesite, hauling about 40 kilo's on my back, dive for about 30 to 40 minutes and then do it all in reverse (hauling and driving). I would say that, including packing and checking gear, driving to and from, and cleaning and storing my gear, I get about 30 to 40 minutes diving out of about 2,5 to 3 hours preparing/driving/gearing up etc.