why are there very few young divers?

[RVBldr]

This is the same question that we have for those into aviation. Lots of older folks, not much of the younger folks. I got certified in sophomore year of college, earned my private pilot license four years later, and have been into both activities for almost 30 years for the most part. There is a lack of participation by the 20-somethings and I'm not sure if there's really a solution, although disposable income is a big factor.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Economics, video games and the lack of a Jacques Cousteau.

 

[chillyinCanada]

It's not just economics. I was in a ski club from 18 years old. Average age of members was 27. As time passed, the average age of membership began to increase and membership fell. When I started out there were so many young people looking for things to do but as the years passed there were more bars, nightclubs etc. We were losing our membership to coolness. There are just as many young people skiing and snowboarding now as there ever was. They really don't know what they are missing. I wouldn't change that ski club experience for anything. But nowadays young people are twittering, texting and facebooking.

 

[Peter69_56]

I think there are a number of reasons why;

1. Cost, most young people don't have the disposable income. As we get older our treasure chest (hopefully) growns allowing us more freedom to chose more expensive sports.

2. Choice. Today there are so many different things people can do, diving being only one. Technology allows people more choices (but also sucks their money up)

3. Time. Most young people have little time to dive. As we get older we build up our free time (holidays etc) and so have time to dive.

4. Families. Just being married and having young families sucks up money and time. Wife doesn't dive so she expects her man to be home more. Non left for diving

 

[AfterDark]

This is the same question that we have for those into aviation. Lots of older folks, not much of the younger folks. I got certified in sophomore year of college, earned my private pilot license four years later, and have been into both activities for almost 30 years for the most part. There is a lack of participation by the 20-somethings and I'm not sure if there's really a solution, although disposable income is a big factor.

They can't drive and text at the same time. You want them to fly and text at the same time??!?!?!?!

 

[TheTrickster]

Most of the divers I've certified recently have been 30+

Young kids idea of adventure these days is how many times they can 'Prestige' in Call of Duty on their Xbox...

 

[Jill from Phoenix]

I see divers come out of the woodwork...but, they're not really divers, they are people who have been diving.

I met a hang gliding instructor that said he thought people today didn't want to learn his sport because they didn't want to invest the time. They wanted to jump out of a plane and be done with it and move on to the next activity.

It's hard for people to make diving a priority, so they never really take the time to learn and enjoy it on a higher level. It's a check on the bucket list.

 

[mathauck0814]

I started diving in my teens, but had to stop diving in my early 20's as I was doing things like establishing my career, buying a home and getting married. With the essentials put away and the career humming I was able to pull back and start diving again a few years ago. I think a lot of people are focused on getting things settled at that age and don't have a lot of extra time or money for things like scuba.

 

[Stoo]

I've been around diving a long time, and even now, I have several friends that own dive shops. I'm also in Canada, which is a relatively small diving market at the best of times. This topic frequently comes up when we talk about the challenges facing their businesses...

I think there are a number of reasons:
* initial cost is high as stated, and with the still-sluggish economy, that age demographic is "under-employed" to some extent
* those that are "well-employed" are saddled with student debt
* there is more competition for "adrenaline sports" - jet skis, kite-surfing etc. (ya, I know rec diving ain't exactly adrenaline-inducing, but non-divers don't get that...)
* many in that age group are video babies. They would rather sit inside and play video games
* diving isn't perceived as a socil sport, and that age group often does stuff in "gangs". Dive clubs tend to be filled with fat old people (like me... although I'm not really in a club).

Having said all of that, we have a group up here... Great Lakes Technical Divers (Great Lakes Technical Divers)... that has a bunch of younger folks in it, that are keen, investing in gear and training and who dive constantly. They're all off to dive Bell Island in Newfoundland this week to dive "Truk North"...

For what it's worth, it's my understanding that many activities have the same problem of attracting younger folks... golf, skiing etc.

 

[caroluscaroli]

In countries in SE Asia like Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines there are a lot more often very young (20-25y) divers. In Europe it's indeed more like Sto has mentioned: 'gang' diving clubs filled ith fat old people