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

[Dormant]

I am landlocked. The diving opportunities are limited. My reply was to the stipulation that younger generations were inactive.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I am landlocked. The diving opportunities are limited. My reply was to the stipulation that younger generations were inactive.

Ok, you’re landlocked, understood.
I know many younger people that are active in all sorts of outdoor activities, I’m not disputing that.
The title of the thread is: “What is the fundamental reason that prevents scuba diving from becoming popular”.
Well, one thing would be people like yourselves that are landlocked and lack the funds to just fly off somewhere to go diving. However, when people in your situation live where water or ocean sports happen then it’s a different story.
A few Sundays ago I was diving at my favorite beach in Northern California. I ran i to a couple of young guys freedive spearfishing. I was scuba diving gathering urchins. It turns out both of these fellows were scuba certified but lacked the funds necessary to buy gear, so instead they freedived.
I used this opportunity to have a good conversation with them about scuba not needing to be expensive to get into if they learned about used gear, what to look for, what they actually needed instead of the dive shop telling them everything they need, etc.
So we ended up exchanging business cards and I’m planning on scuba diving with these two guys soon.
So the takeaway for me as to why scuba diving isn’t more popular (to younger people at least) is the cost prohibitiveness of the gear.
In your case, I have no idea of your personal situation, where you live etc. but back when I was young people actually moved around and tailored their lives to suit their hobbies. They designed their lives around stuff they did. One guy I knew moved closer to better surfing because that was his passion. People do uproot and move to places because of things like: better hiking, better surfing, more sun, better fishing, they move to the coast, and yes they also move to places with better diving.
Coming on here and grumbling about not having money or time to dive isn’t going to make it happen. You have to make it happen.

 

[Marie13]

Bingo! You either want it bad enough or you don’t. I’m fond of the Nike slogan: “Just do it.”

 

[Dormant]

Ok, you’re landlocked, understood.
I know many younger people that are active in all sorts of outdoor activities, I’m not disputing that.
The title of the thread is: “What is the fundamental reason that prevents scuba diving from becoming popular”.
Well, one thing would be people like yourselves that are landlocked and lack the funds to just fly off somewhere to go diving. However, when people in your situation live where water or ocean sports happen then it’s a different story.
A few Sundays ago I was diving at my favorite beach in Northern California. I ran i to a couple of young guys freedive spearfishing. I was scuba diving gathering urchins. It turns out both of these fellows were scuba certified but lacked the funds necessary to buy gear, so instead they freedived.
I used this opportunity to have a good conversation with them about scuba not needing to be expensive to get into if they learned about used gear, what to look for, what they actually needed instead of the dive shop telling them everything they need, etc.
So we ended up exchanging business cards and I’m planning on scuba diving with these two guys soon.
So the takeaway for me as to why scuba diving isn’t more popular (to younger people at least) is the cost prohibitiveness of the gear.
In your case, I have no idea of your personal situation, where you live etc. but back when I was young people actually moved around and tailored their lives to suit their hobbies. They designed their lives around stuff they did. One guy I knew moved closer to better surfing because that was his passion. People do uproot and move to places because of things like: better hiking, better surfing, more sun, better fishing, they move to the coast, and yes they also move to places with better diving.
Coming on here and grumbling about not having money or time to dive isn’t going to make it happen. You have to make it happen.

No one is grumbling. I made a simple statement that diving is cost prohibitive and I am landlocked. My other reply was that I disagree that is generational. I believe that to be an oversimplification. Another over simplification is to state that scuba diving is accessible to everyone if "you just want it enough". Diving is plenty popular but it is an expensive hobby that requires discretionary funds that many simply do not have.

 

[GDHLEWIS]

Based on my experience and observations over years I would say SCUBA is popular, of course not as popular as main stream sports such as football / soccer or similar. But those sports don't require having to formally learn / certified, their equipment doesn't cost as much, and to this day a lot of people still have a fundamental fear of deep water. Fear is the one thing I find a lot of people cannot get over

 

[Dormant]

Something to consider, why would we want diving to be more popular? I have read more than a few anecdotes of other divers kicking up reefs, silting up the visibility, or harassing sealife for the perfect photo shot. Wouldn't you rather have your favorite site to yourself?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Something to consider, why would we want diving to be more popular? I have read more than a few anecdotes of other divers kicking up reefs, silting up the visibility, or harassing sealife for the perfect photo shot. Wouldn't you rather have your favorite site to yourself?

Because when an activity becomes more popular and more people take part, the laws of supply and demand kick in and so does productive competition. Prices actually go down when demand goes up and supply goes up to meet that demand. With more divers we would have more and better gear choices, more dive operations, more dive resorts, more local dive shops to service that demand.
Bad divers kicking up reefs is another entirely different problem and topic.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

No one is grumbling. I made a simple statement that diving is cost prohibitive and I am landlocked. My other reply was that I disagree that is generational. I believe that to be an oversimplification. Another over simplification is to state that scuba diving is accessible to everyone if "you just want it enough". Diving is plenty popular but it is an expensive hobby that requires discretionary funds that many simply do not have.

You have to do more than to just ”want it enough”.
Dreaming about blowing bubbles again someday will get you nothing, you have to act on it.
If you are into diving enough you will find a way to un-landlock yourself, and if you lack the funds then figure out a way to get the funds.
Life is about choices and priorities.
I dive in ice cold water. Most people will not dive here, but I want to dive bad enough that I go out in 48 degree water with surf and swell and 10’ visibility because I want it that bad. I also live here and figured out a way to make a living here because I like to live by the ocean and I learned to love the diving here. I struggled like hell with bills, family, kid, this F’ing house that always needs something done, being self employed, surviving two recessions and a pandemic, etc.
Does any of it make sense to you how hard you have to work for it? Or are just a chronic complainer?

I could be landlocked too but I’m not by choice.

 

[Dormant]

Wow. Way to be a dick and encouraging. I told you what prevents me personally from diving and you label me a complainer. Not everyone has several thousand dollars in available funds to invest in gear and travel.

 

[Mrs. B]

The other thing, I can’t think of a hobby where it attracts so many people who like to police others behavior. I have no idea what to make of that. I got a letter once from a PADI course director telling me not to ride a jet ski sled (lifeguards in Hawaii) to a reef for a reef clean up

I don’t see how I was under his purview but it was fairly typical people thought. The medical
Information the resorts and dive boats want is unreasonable because we know zero about them and they are picking us up on drifts. It became all about liability protection. I’ve had a diver guest on our boat telling us we shouldn’t be diving without oxygen and so on. It’s literally easier and cheaper to rent a plane.

I had a curative ablation about twenty years ago and the interventional cardiologist told me to never write it on anything because I would “only cause yourself problems.”

I do love diving but it became so bureaucratic to be worth all the effort. I do like diving solo for photography and people report to me now that even Palau wants a certificate or won’t allow it at all. It used to be that if you were a divemaster you could dive on your own. It’s like every year new rules were added and the process mushroomed.

I’m only recounting this for feedback because I think an operator that changed the mood could
do very well if they made it more relaxed again.