In the last few days/weeks I’ve noticed an uptick in some very strange dive stories involving some trust me deep dives into deco, people running out of air with deco obligations, . . .
I haven't seen any of the specific items you mentioned - were these on SB, or elsewhere?
But, I have been experiencing a vague sense of discomfort about the very issue you raise. And, I cannot tell if there has been an increase in dive experiences of the kind you mention, or if the ubiquitous availability of social media outlets simply makes 'sharing' them easier.
I do think, admittedly without hard data to support my conclusion, that there are people who dive and flirt with disaster, without ever realizing just how close they came to the terminal event in their mortal existence. I wonder if they see diving as the equivalent of an amusement park ride, where you get exhilaration without real danger - 'it must be safe or they wouldn't let us do it'.
Maybe, there are just more people around now who a) take pride in the 'Hey, y'all, watch this!' behavior that we usually associate with rednecks, and b) get a sense of satisfaction from sharing their behavior on YouTube, Facebook, SB, and elsewhere, instead of walking away, thinking about what they did wrong, and vowing never to do something that stupid ever again.
Kev's excerpt from Pete Stark's book is excellent, and characterizes explains why some people pursue challenging endeavors. From my perspective, what seems to be missing in some of the examples that I see, perhaps some of the examples that Eric has alluded to, is a critical element in Peter Stark's introduction:
kevrumbo:
" . . . where your life hinges on your own ability to assess a dangerous situation . . . "
I am not sure that some of the divers in question actually assess the danger of the situations in which they place themselves. But, maybe I am just being too conservative.