Why aren't more people taking up scuba diving?

[redacted]

A young college student approached me last week to ask about diving. When I told him he needs to be thinking about spending $2k to $4k to get started and then $2k to $5k per year to enjoy the activity, he seemed to lose interest.

 

[boulderjohn]

About millenials and their participation...

I have two children with growing active families. I have certified one daughter-in-law and a grandson, but they rarely dive. I don't blame them. It's very tough to fit it in with all they have to do in their lives. They also have to be very careful about their budgets and can't really afford the costs while they are saving for both retirement and their children's college expenses. I would say all their friends are in the same situation.

But is that different from previous generations? When I have middle-aged students wanting a refresher or recertification after a long layoff, the most common explanation is that they got certified when young but had to stop while they raised a family. The same was true of me. I could not possibly have been a scuba diver at that point in my life. I did not become certified until my children were adult or near adult, their college funding was secured, and I did not have to worry about retirement planning any more.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I've been following this thread and now I'm thinking I need to become an instructor. I have a girlfriend, two daughters, and a son-in-law who are all interested in becoming certified. The total cost for just these four for AOW I'm guessing would be around $3200 or so. The last time I looked it was around $900 to become an instructor. Plus I have several grandkids that might want to dive someday (two of them I am pretty sure of). So, financially speaking, it would be cheaper if I just teach them all. Of course there would still be some costs for materials etc. I have enough tanks for all and regulators etc for at least two. I'm not particularly thrilled with giving up my regulator and using my old AquaLung from the 60s but that would make one more available.

 

[Storker]

Life was simpler and cheaper back then for the upper middle class.
Also In the old days a lot of people didn't have had to spend near the they do now most of their money to exist.

FTFY.

 

[TMHeimer]

About millenials and their participation...

I have two children with growing active families. I have certified one daughter-in-law and a grandson, but they rarely dive. I don't blame them. It's very tough to fit it in with all they have to do in their lives. They also have to be very careful about their budgets and can't really afford the costs while they are saving for both retirement and their children's college expenses. I would say all their friends are in the same situation.

But is that different from previous generations? When I have middle-aged students wanting a refresher or recertification after a long layoff, the most common explanation is that they got certified when young but had to stop while they raised a family. The same was true of me. I could not possibly have been a scuba diver at that point in my life. I did not become certified until my children were adult or near adult, their college funding was secured, and I did not have to worry about retirement planning any more.

I don't really think it is different from previous generations. Depends on your situation. When I graduated HS in New York (1972) there was all this talk about no jobs for young people (well NYC did almost go broke in '76). So I snail mailed all over the US & Canada for a teaching job and spent my career in Canada way up North where I had no desire to dive. And I was single most of those years.
Moving to a house on the Atlantic got me right into scuba. It's an individual thing.
Back them my mom did say that she noticed both parents working now and didn't know how a family could survive with just the father working. Different times, but it does sound like today's world.

 

[mmmbelows]

What motivated me as a young guy was the old Jacques Cousteau TV show in the 1970's. Used to watch it any time it was on. And then "Jaws" came out and that motivated me even more to learn about scuba. I got both my kids into scuba diving as teenagers with junior certs but neither of them are interested now (26 & 32 yrs old), but they both tell me they might pick it up later when they have more time/money.

I think the times have a lot to do with it. 30-40 years ago seeing what was below the water was a new frontier, today it's been over-exposed for 2 to 3 decades on youtube, the discovery channel and countless movies, the newness is over. Back in the 60s-70s the incorporation of scuba diving into movies was a thrill - The Deep, James Bond... there were TV shows about it, Sea Qwest, Jacques Cousteau. What's on tv now that is diver centric?

It's just not new and exciting like it was, people have moved on.

 

[David Wilson]

I apologise in advance if this is going to sound provocative on a forum and thread with "SCUBA" in the names, but as a lifelong snorkeller who qualified in SCUBA in the late 1960s but hasn't engaged in SCUBA diving since, I think one issue needing addressing is the assumption that self-contained underwater breathing apparatus is central to all underwater swimming activity. Maybe wrongly, I get the impression from many posts that the swimming and snorkelling skills I had to master fifty years ago are no longer considered necessary for anybody aspiring to SCUBA.

I snorkel because I live just eight miles away from the sea and I can spontaneously jump into my car with my snorkel, fins and mask and be in the sea within twenty minutes without having to worry about air fills. When I'm abroad, it's easy to throw in my basic gear and go for a dip in the nearest river, lake or ocean. I can go on vacation wherever non-diving attractions (history, culture, people, language, food, shopping, architecture, nature) are paramount rather than locations catering for diving alone. I can choose to snorkel from public beaches, like the locals, rather than being segregated and herded around on tourist boats.

So I'd ask the question "Why don't more people take up open-water swimming and diving?" rather than limiting the topic to SCUBA, which is one water-based activity among many. Let's celebrate people getting into any outdoor aquatic pursuit, rather than just singling out SCUBA diving as the "Holy Grail" of aquatic activity. I enjoy snorkelling because it's a simple, inexpensive activity that I can still enjoy now that I'm in my late sixties and appreciate a quiet life. I respect those who do SCUBA, but no thanks, I have no plans to join you in the activity.

 

[EFX]

Thanks David for your perspective. You answered your question in the first sentence of your response above. If you had posted in the first few pages what you say may have been provocative but after 83 pages it's just another opinion that supports a previously stated reason that scuba is inconvenient. Apology accepted.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks David for your perspective. You answered your question in the first sentence of your response above. If you had posted in the first few pages what you say may have been provocative but after 83 pages it's just another opinion that supports a previously stated reason that scuba is inconvenient. Apology accepted.

SCUBA can be inconvenient, yes, but what I was trying to say was that snorkelling has provided, and still provides, me with all the fulfilment and enjoyment I want and need when it comes to underwater activity. I don't want to be labelled as a "SCUBA diver in waiting" and I don't intend to "graduate" to SCUBA at any stage, however convenient SCUBA may become in the future.

Some SCUBA-only people who visit the Snorkelling forum here don't understand that breathhold diving and swimming can be precisely what somebody wants to do and not what somebody has to settle for because of their circumstances. Snorkelling, at least for me, isn't some kind of "second best". This is why I say that we should celebrate people engaging in any aquatic pursuit, not just the subaquatic activity of diving with self-contained breathing apparatus.

 

[jphehe]

Recently I was reading some old articles regarding scuba drop-out rates;
30% according to the old articles, but 70% according to the observation from my local friends.

Most diving population seem to be in their 30's and 40's in age. That's when most people are more financially available, while most young adults (20's) have different priorities. (you bet!)

People have different level of passion for different hobbies, so it is all natural selection.
Therefore it is not about "scuba is awesome; everyone should do this"...etc.