How has the internet affected diving? Good/bad or both?

[Joneill]

Prompting an abstract discussion.
Think back before the advent of the internet and the subsequent overload of information both great and not so good.
Examine the difference between how it used to be when people had to meet in person to discuss the finer points of our sport at dive club meetings or on the beach. There were more dive magazines then. Now all but a few mags left these days, but now we theoretically have virtually any and all information at our finger tips while we walk the dog or sit on the couch.
Has the internet lead to more isolation or has it opened up your life to more and better diving, or both?
Discuss.

I think it has been really good for diving - I'm a relatively new diver (certified in 2015) but can't imagine how much harder it would be to learn about training, equipment, techniques, destinations, manufacturer/industry news, accidents and much, much more without an internet site like this. It has also provided a way to connect with a huge network of divers all around the world to solve problems, get advice and and share experiences (both good and bad)!

 

[rhwestfall]

It is an ebb and flow.

Back in time, folks did a lot of diy stuff. Then it became taboo. Now, it is back. The availability of information certainly helped that.

Travel has really blossomed with the information age.

Equipment choices have really grown due to information availability.

Shops have suffered, sometimes because the truth came out....

 

[Jcp2]

It’s so crowded there that nobody goes anymore.

 

[scubadada]

I'm a relatively old guy, been diving for 49 years. Internet has improved diving immensely, I can't even to begin with the advantages. These include information available, booking. I generally know where I want to go, I just do not know the details

 

[RayfromTX]

There was a time when most of my activities followed a path of gaining experience and then slowly gaining knowledge to go with it. Now I quickly gain the knowledge and then slowly gain the experience to go with it. It definitely speeds up the process of becoming proficient.

There was a time when your experiences were heavily influenced by the people in your area. Now my experiences are heavily influenced by people in other states and other countries and my friends in the diving community are not local, for the most part. Since we travel a lot to dive that is just as well. Our friends meet up with us in the places we dive or we go to visit them in their world. My involvement in scuba and the dozen or so other hobbies I have are heavily enriched by my associations that are either initiated or maintained by online communications. The internet has forced me to by more airline tickets than I otherwise would.

My gear choices are absolutely better because of the internet. I pump my own gas and build and maintain my own gear because the info is available and easily updated. Log books online, trimix blending programs on my phone, sharing photos on facebook and videos on youtube? Chatting with industry leaders and manufacturers? That just wouldn't have happened and my interest in the hobby may or may not have survived the experience of doing and buying everything locally.

And then there are all of y'all. I'd prefer to fill an odd 20 minutes chatting with y'all than watching some crap on TV or reading a dive magazine. @The Chairman Scubaboard is a gift that is a big part of my online experience of scuba diving. Thanks for your part of my journey.

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

It has vastly reduced the amount of LDS BS that gets taken as gospel.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I should add that before the internet, I used to go to the library after diving to look up the names of the animals I saw. A day of diving usually involved two or three hours at the library. Now I can identify most animals I photograph in less than an hour. Unfortunately, I now spend about eight hours working on the day's photos so I can post them on Scubaboard.

 

[chillyinCanada]

In the absence of the internet, I'd have been to many fewer places and may not even be a diver anymore. I'd have a lot more money and have been far more focused on my career rather than wanting to get away from it all and being willing to give up a lot to do that. Has it been good for me? Depends on how a person defines that and whether or not I outlive what's left of my money, lol.

Oh, 14 years ago, I was in ICU Isolation and figured I was breathing my last. My perspective on life had already been changing at that point, nonetheless, the experience was pivotal absolutely pivotal and there was no going back to previous ways.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

It has vastly reduced the amount of LDS BS that gets taken as gospel.

It has also fostered alternative gear companies to sprout and grow outside of the whole institution of the LDS/manufacturer complex.
Companies like Hog, Deep six, several others, and even myself are perfect examples of people who would be completely shut out of the dive world if it wasn’t for the internet.

I suppose during the time before the internet there probably was more personal interaction between people. But a lot of that was around the filling station at the dive shop. The dive shops put on more fun dives and you had to go in there to grab a flyer to see where the next dive was going to be. Dive clubs were more prolific since that was the number one way people found dive buddies. I remember people taking extra specialty classes just so they could meet new people to dive with.
To find stuff out you really had to talk to people and seek out the information. Information was controlled a lot easier and disbursed a lot differently. It was disbursed in a way that the people in charge could control exactly what they wanted you to know a lot easier, the gear to use, the training to get, the trips to take, etc. I believe that if the internet was invented back in the 70’s diving would look entirely different now in every aspect.

 

[The Chairman]

Without the internet, I'd have to actually work for a living.