Why aren't more people taking up scuba diving?

[Eric Sedletzky]

So talk about your project and leave the social commentary for the off-topic forums ... this is the Basic Scuba forum.

On the topic of the thread ... I don't particularly WANT to see more people taking up scuba diving. It's not an activity for everyone ... and frankly, a lot of people who are currently involved in scuba would be better off (both for them and the rest of us) if they found some other use for their recreational time and money.

Why would anyone not in the business of selling scuba equipment, classes and/or trips want more participation? If you've traveled to any of the popular dive destinations for any period of time, you will have undoubtedly noticed that the reefs have been degraded significantly ... primarily due to overuse by the underqualified.

I'd rather see fewer divers who were more committed to the sustainability of diving ... which means reasonable maintenance of the reasons why we dive.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

You post was kind of what I was trying to get at earlier in this thread, but you said it better.
My whole point was that the industry was inflated by a horde of "dabblers" at a recent point in history. Some blasted me for saying they don't belong in scuba, but scuba is not rolling down a hill on a new mountain bike at going endo and hurting your shoulder and deciding it's not for you. As you put it there is a lot more at stake.
During the recession it was the dedicated divers that kept things going. We always needed fills, and things like gloves, booties, a new suit or two and other trinkets that need to be replaced once in a while. Dabblers will come in and get all excited, buy a whole set of stuff or two or three, dive for a couple years then drop it like a hot rock and move on. You might say "So, what is the problem with that?" I say it can be a problem because the industry adjusts itself for the upswing in initial sales and that sets a new index for a level or retail, which is somewhat false. Then when things get bad they jump ship leaving the industry to feed a bigger machine that they tooled up for to handle this spike.
And of course the damage to the reef part you mentioned.
I too would rather see better training which would weed out the "anybody can do it" crowd, and it would mean that gear sales would be more permanent which would also reduce used gear inventory from people who tried it and didn't like it, which would be good for manufacturers.

Overall, better trained and more dedicated divers would provide stability and steady solid growth to the industry.
It's almost like the housing bubble, that's what happens when you sell a bunch of houses to people who can't afford one.

 

[GiantMoray]

You always needed botties?! What you said is true, perhaps if there wasn't the requirement to buy mask, snorkel, booties, fins on top of course costs in some places, then people who decide it doesn't suit them wouldn't stick with it and feel the need to buy more equipment before bailing. Once the investment starts it's hard to justify stopping. Equally it might encourage those who are put off but the initial costs, but who might long term devise they really like it and stick with it.

I'm lucky, didn't have to pay anything other than course costs to begin with, was even allowed to keep coming along to pool sessions to borrow equipment and practice.

---------- Post added September 3rd, 2014 at 04:37 PM ----------

(After qualifying)

 

[azstinger11]

As been discussed I really think it comes down to 3 factors, location of student, costs associated with diving, and individual instructor/store policies/customer interactions.

When I was in Kansas, it was a daunting prospect starting to dive, since I knew just about all my dives would involve some level of travel. So let me get this straight I have to give you cash for the course, rental, mask/fins/boots/snorkel, and then I have to pay hundreds of dollars to travel and then pay for rentals/charters? Oh and couple it to the fact they said you won’t get “good” tell after around 50 dives, holy cow this is going to be expensive! Luckily it is easily a lifelong pursuit so spending money here and there is okay and nothing to fork over the thousands of dollars I’m sure that in the end I will have spent on the sport.
Another huge thing in my mind is experience the new diver gets with their dive shop/instructor. My PADI AOW course was extremely lackluster, and if my OW experience hadn’t been so positive I could see how it could drive people away. Too pushy on sales, too many students in a course, etc. could all lead people to say ok I’ll complete what I paid for but after this I’m done.

During my AOW certification the other instructor in the group was teaching some OW students. I heard numerous complaints from them about how they would never dive in California again, between the cold water temperatures, cumbersome 7mm wetsuits, surf entry, etc. All are very manageable of course but when new/nervous I can see how it could be a major turnoff. Perhaps they will be warm water resort divers but active divers, seeking frequent upgrades to their skill and knowledge set, probably unlikely.

As been discussed I really think it comes down to 3 factors, location of student, costs associated with diving, and individual instructor/store policies/customer interactions.
When I was in Kansas, it was a daunting prospect starting to dive, since I knew just about all my dives would involve some level of travel. So let me get this straight I have to give you cash for the course, rental, mask/fins/boots/snorkel, and then I have to pay hundreds of dollars to travel and then pay for rentals/charters? Oh and couple it to the fact they said you won’t get “good” tell after around 50 dives, holy cow this is going to be expensive! Luckily it is easily a lifelong pursuit so spending money here and there is okay and nothing to fork over the thousands of dollars I’m sure that in the end I will have spent on the sport.
Another huge thing in my mind is experience the new diver gets with their dive shop/instructor. My PADI AOW course was extremely lackluster, and if my OW experience hadn’t been so positive I could see how it could drive people away. Too pushy on sales, too many students in a course, etc. could all lead people to say ok I’ll complete what I paid for but after this I’m done.

During my AOW certification the other instructor in the group was teaching some OW students. I heard numerous complaints from them about how they would never dive in California again, between the cold water temperatures, cumbersome 7mm wetsuits, surf entry, etc. All are very manageable of course but when new/nervous I can see how it could be a major turnoff. Perhaps they will be warm water resort divers but active divers, seeking frequent upgrades to their skill and knowledge set, probably unlikely.

 

[boulderjohn]

During my AOW certification the other instructor in the group was teaching some OW students. I heard numerous complaints from them about how they would never dive in California again, between the cold water temperatures, cumbersome 7mm wetsuits, surf entry, etc. All are very manageable of course but when new/nervous I can see how it could be a major turnoff. Perhaps they will be warm water resort divers but active divers, seeking frequent upgrades to their skill and knowledge set, probably unlikely.

You may find it interesting that others will often say the the opposite. They will say that people who learn in really tough conditions learn better, do better when they go to warmer locations, and are more likely to continue as divers. Personally, I disagree.

I learned to dive solely for the purpose of diving in warm, clear waters on vacation. That's where I learned to dive, and that is the only kind of diving I did for more than 5 years. In those days I laughed at the notion of cold water, low-visibility diving. Not for me! Once I was thoroughly hooked, though, I looked to expand my experiences, and now I do much more cold water, low-visibility diving than warm water diving. I look forward to those dives.

I have two friends who live in southern California. We were planning a trip to Australia with them, and I convinced them they needed to get certified for that trip. They did not want to do it in southern California, though. No sirree. Too cold. Too murky. They would never dive there. So they came to Colorado so I could do the pool dives before we went to Mexico to finish the certification. Then they flew to Florida while I was there so that they could get their AOW. Then we went to Australia. This was all in less than a year from the present day. They recently called me, excited after their first southern California dives, done in all their own equipment except for the rented 7 mm wet suits and tanks.

I think there is a lot to be said about getting hooked in those beautiful resort conditions and then gradually progressing to something more challenging.

 

[Six Feet Under]

I've found that most retail stores for hobby-type goods (paintball, firearms, scuba diving are my three favorite things) are run by people that should not be allowed within a mile of a position of responsibility over a business, because they have piss-poor attitudes and no business/customer service sense AT ALL.

The only reason most of them are in business is because they like what they sell (gun guys like shooting, paintball players like paintball, etc), so they decided to go into business. It's a miracle most of them survive more than a couple of years. I know a few shop owners (paintball and firearms mostly) who have survived all of the downturns in the economy and actually prospered because they have great business and customer service skills... but most owners don't. All they care about is getting your money on THIS particular sale.

 

[k ellis]

Just thumbing through some of the post but to give an opinion on why scuba isnt a big hit with younger crowds......

I have noticed with younger crowds its not about fun and adventure any more like many of us had when we were younger. I have seen kids get plain mad when they find out mom or dad booked a cruise or a flight somewhere exotic. With comments like "Theres nothing to do but sit on the beach (Or deck).

I have witnessed too that we are trending towards the less effort is better mentality. Just the other day I went to a mcdonalds for breakfast and noticed the line was wrapped around the building and literally out in to the street so we parked across the street and walked over to the mcdonalds. Despite the honking horns and impatient gestures people were giving sitting in line the lobby was completely empty and we walked right up and ordered and was out in no time.

Television which was once a staple in our lives and something where commercials would come on and show exotic get aways are fading in to streaming commercial free media like netflix and so forth.

Where we once went out and constructed something by hand kids today do it virtually and thus never need to leave their home. Why would they want to work out in the cold or heat when they can sit at home?

We look at prepackaged entertainment. Once seen as a luxury Disney World was once viewed as an elite child who attended. Now you go to these places and pay an extraordinary price and with lines so long your lucky to ride even 5 rides all day and have to make reservations to go to a burger stand.

Its no wonder that as the I dont want to do anything and have no motivation to do anything crowd grows up its going to push alot of things we enjoy out the door as the older generation ages and eventually passes away.

 

[TMHeimer]

k ellis, I think I agree with everything you say. As I have previously mentioned though, the vast majority of the OW courses we do (every weekend, sometimes 2 classes a weekend, plus night classes--from end March to start of Dec.) probably contain 70% of the students being between ages 20 and 30. This is interesting.

 

[rx7diver]

During my AOW certification the other instructor in the group was teaching some OW students. I heard numerous complaints from them about how they would never dive in California again, between the cold water temperatures, cumbersome 7mm wetsuits, surf entry, etc. All are very manageable of course but when new/nervous I can see how it could be a major turnoff. Perhaps they will be warm water resort divers but active divers, seeking frequent upgrades to their skill and knowledge set, probably unlikely.

Curious. It wasn't until after my first walk-in ocean dive that I felt I had become, finally, a scuba diver! I had helped a friend move from the Midwest to Boston, and we drove up from Boston to a cove near a small seaport town just north of Boston, to do a walk-in dive. Relatively shallow, not terribly long (as the water was very cold), easy surf. Parked the car on the side of the road, changed into our gear in/just outside the car, walked across the road and across a narrow beach and into and under the surf. Our first time doing this. (Our first time diving together.) The entire experience was exhilarating. Even the part where we unceremoniously peeled off our wetsuits, wrapped ourselves in towels, and dove into our Honda Civic, heater cranked full on, to thaw ourselves afterward. This was in March. I had already been diving for a year or so (Missouri lakes and quarries, and under the ice in Lake St Louis), but THIS was REAL diving!

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[k ellis]

k ellis, I think I agree with everything you say. As I have previously mentioned though, the vast majority of the OW courses we do (every weekend, sometimes 2 classes a weekend, plus night classes--from end March to start of Dec.) probably contain 70% of the students being between ages 20 and 30. This is interesting.

True and by far im not saying the sport is dead. What I am saying is as time progresses it will continue to diminish in popularity if we remain on the present course. Doing some resource work in school im surprised to find that many students cant even read an analog clock.

Reports are verying though with some dive shop s reporting an increase in diver activity while others report a decrease.

 

[kelemvor]

True and by far im not saying the sport is dead. What I am saying is as time progresses it will continue to diminish in popularity if we remain on the present course. Doing some resource work in school im surprised to find that many students cant even read an analog clock.

I bet they can't operate a phonograph, either. It's a skill that is diminishing because analog clocks have been replaced by something else.