How to Engage Younger People in Diving?

[Midwesterndvr]

Also my intention in the reply isn’t condemnation or criticism just simple observation and I admit I could be mistaken.

 

[DBPacific]

perjhaps, but I am hoping to stimulate some discussion and ideas to engage younger people in diving - not drive them away with criticism and condemnation.

Yeah, this thread is doing great at that.

I suppose I'm one of the 'younger people' y'all are talking about - barely hit my early twenties last year and I started diving when I was a teen. For me, it was those deadly screens everyone is talking about that got me into it in the first place. My family is terrified of the ocean and despite living only an hour away from the beach, refused to ever go except once in a blue moon. Rare aquarium trips when I nagged them enough and ocean documentaries like Blue Planet were the only way I could get to the ocean, and now I work in it.

For most of us younger folks, the cost of diving and medical issues are the biggest issue. I have never met a person my age or younger who wasn't fascinated by diving. 80% of those I know who haven't seriously started looking at diving are avoiding it because they can barely pay rent and other necessities even working two jobs, and are trying to save money by cutting corners wherever they can. I mean, good lord, it would've taken me another year or two to get certified if I hadn't worked out a loan system with my parents. The others who are interested but haven't done so cite medical issues - not allowed because of asthma, heart problems, other things that won't clear the medical.

With increased media coverage on violence and crime, more and more people and parents want to stay indoors, which just creates that pattern of behavior in the kids. I know that's how it was for me. Other modes of entertainment - video games, TV, ebooks - are much less expensive and much easier to fly by your financial plans and/or parents.

 

[flyboy08]

How to Engage Younger People in Diving?.

Put a diving video game app together....

 

[Midwesterndvr]

Thanks DB I agree with much of your statement. I think younger folks have many challenges growing up in the current culture. I definitely wouldn’t want to be someone in my early twenties now. The cost of rent is a common issue for people moving out on their own in this time I hope the free market addresses the housing affordability issues for people who aren’t on some sort of program. Also I think health care cost would be less of a challenge due to the fact adults can remain on their parents insurance well into their middle twenties. I don’t think many people are priced out of diving for many reasons credit is easily available for nearly anything.

Yeah, this thread is doing great at that.

I suppose I'm one of the 'younger people' y'all are talking about - barely hit my early twenties last year and I started diving when I was a teen. For me, it was those deadly screens everyone is talking about that got me into it in the first place. My family is terrified of the ocean and despite living only an hour away from the beach, refused to ever go except once in a blue moon. Rare aquarium trips when I nagged them enough and ocean documentaries like Blue Planet were the only way I could get to the ocean, and now I work in it.

For most of us younger folks, the cost of diving and medical issues are the biggest issue. I have never met a person my age or younger who wasn't fascinated by diving. 80% of those I know who haven't seriously started looking at diving are avoiding it because they can barely pay rent and other necessities even working two jobs, and are trying to save money by cutting corners wherever they can. I mean, good lord, it would've taken me another year or two to get certified if I hadn't worked out a loan system with my parents. The others who are interested but haven't done so cite medical issues - not allowed because of asthma, heart problems, other things that won't clear the medical.

With increased media coverage on violence and crime, more and more people and parents want to stay indoors, which just creates that pattern of behavior in the kids. I know that's how it was for me. Other modes of entertainment - video games, TV, ebooks - are much less expensive and much easier to fly by your financial plans and/or parents.

,

 

[dewdropsonrosa]

I'm 30, which is about the end of being a "younger person" and old enough not to be trusted (according to the Beatles). I started diving when I was 24.

The answer is largely centered around economic issues. Inflation has doubled prices since 1989, but wages haven't grown anywhere near the same pace and most people my age are also carrying 5-6 figures of inflated student loan debt. It isn't always possible to learn to dive or to keep diving cheaply, especially for people in HCOL areas.

I've had to sacrifice the possibility of keeping more than $1k in liquid savings so that I can actually do the thing I love. It's not mathematically possible to do both.

 

[greeniguana]

I got certified when I was 12. 33 years ago. I couldn't really afford to pay for "real diving" until I graduated from college. In my early years after I got my driving license my buddies and I did renegade beach diving for lobsters, DIY rental john boat dive trips, and we borrowed little skiffs to go out at night to try and catch coral spawing. Kids today would probably never attempt these kinds of "dangerous" expeditions.

 

[Dish]

I’m an old goat and would never delude myself by pretending to understand how younger folks think. This is why comments from Sleepy, DB and Rosa are important to the conversation and I appreciate their posts.

 

[Jcp2]

Scuba Diver Socio-Demographic Profile - Scubanomics

Strategy: Dive Industry Marketing to Non-Divers - Scubanomics

 

[DBPacific]

Thanks DB I agree with much of your statement. I think younger folks have many challenges growing up in the current culture. I definitely wouldn’t want to be someone in my early twenties now. The cost of rent is a common issue for people moving out on their own in this time I hope the free market addresses the housing affordability issues for people who aren’t on some sort of program. Also I think health care cost would be less of a challenge due to the fact adults can remain on their parents insurance well into their middle twenties. I don’t think many people are priced out of diving for many reasons credit is easily available for nearly anything.

,

To get credit you have to build good credit, and to do that you need to build a transaction history. Not exactly very easy for most young people who have $20 after paying rent. Housing and education costs have inflated, the cost of necessary things (like computers and phones) have increased, items are commonly built to break down within a few years so you have to buy replacements, and wages have not increased. If you disagree that computers and phones aren't necessary, then look in any school right now. Computers become necessary in elementary school or even earlier for assignments, phones become absolutely necessary as soon as you get a job, if not before. My sister has had to replace her phone or computer almost every single year because they break down (Apple). Those costs plus rising tuition for higher education make expensive hobbies out of reach for most.

And if you want to bring up health care, do you realize how little is covered and how variable coverage is, at least in the US? A set of x-rays for an injury on the job would've cost me thousands even after insurance if I hadn't filed workman's comp. My family skips on medications and treatment cause the insurance just doesn't cover it and my parents don't think their conditions are 'bad enough to warrant the expense.' Now my mama is 90 lbs soaking wet and nothing but skin and bone and she still refuses to get on meds cause she'd have to pay for them for the rest of her life. And we have pretty darn good insurance for the most part. I had to pay over $200 for my prescriptions because the pharmacy messed up and that was even after a sympathetic employee used her discount for me. I had to pay almost a thousand because the frickin hospital wouldn't let me in even though they were open to new patients for 10 more minutes and had to go to the ER instead. That's not even taking into account how quickly health care coverage changes for each provider, how you don't know what insurance a specific provider will cover until you get the bill in most cases, and how they charge an arm and a leg for a doc to come in and look at you for 5 minutes before giving you a script. Don't you dare say that health care is easier nowadays.

 

[Midwesterndvr]

To get credit you have to build good credit, and to do that you need to build a transaction history. Not exactly very easy for most young people who have $20 after paying rent. Housing and education costs have inflated, the cost of necessary things (like computers and phones) have increased, items are commonly built to break down within a few years so you have to buy replacements, and wages have not increased. If you disagree that computers and phones aren't necessary, then look in any school right now. Computers become necessary in elementary school or even earlier for assignments, phones become absolutely necessary as soon as you get a job, if not before. My sister has had to replace her phone or computer almost every single year because they break down (Apple). Those costs plus rising tuition for higher education make expensive hobbies out of reach for most.

And if you want to bring up health care, do you realize how little is covered and how variable coverage is, at least in the US? A set of x-rays for an injury on the job would've cost me thousands even after insurance if I hadn't filed workman's comp. My family skips on medications and treatment cause the insurance just doesn't cover it and my parents don't think their conditions are 'bad enough to warrant the expense.' Now my mama is 90 lbs soaking wet and nothing but skin and bone and she still refuses to get on meds cause she'd have to pay for them for the rest of her life. And we have pretty darn good insurance for the most part. I had to pay over $200 for my prescriptions because the pharmacy messed up and that was even after a sympathetic employee used her discount for me. I had to pay almost a thousand because the frickin hospital wouldn't let me in even though they were open to new patients for 10 more minutes and had to go to the ER instead. That's not even taking into account how quickly health care coverage changes for each provider, how you don't know what insurance a specific provider will cover until you get the bill in most cases, and how they charge an arm and a leg for a doc to come in and look at you for 5 minutes before giving you a script. Don't you dare say that health care is easier nowadays.

I definitely disagree with your position that to get credit you need to build credit. There are countless examples in the recent past to show that’s not true. You do need to sign and initial. Also there are many ways people can save money, for example you can probably get less expensive phones other then apple. Also if student loans of concern the military is a great option. I don’t disagree that healthcare is very expensive and way overpriced and every situation is different.