What is the BIGGEST OBSTACLE TO DIVING?

[Air On]

You know I ask this question about, Hiking, snowboarding, shooting, etc.
It might be a personality thing.

How many divers never dive even with high levels certifications/specialties?

The classes are only a couple hundred...
You can rent gear...
Even in the middle of th Arizona desert we find places to dive...

Many excuses but no good reasons...
Share your stories, people that like adventure will be drawn in.
Share pictures, the el-cheapo disposable Fugi's can do 50' (says 30') people that like to see things will be attracted.

Be enthusiastic about it... You can peek people's interest if it sounds like a lot of fun.

Personally,
I know of 4 people in the last year who have become newly certified after talking with me about my trips and seeing my pictures (from my cheap camera).
I know 3 divers who haven't taken a dive in over 5+ years who I have regaining interest in diving!

If you wonder why more people don't dive... look in the mirror.

 

[--tom--]

This is my go around with Scuba as a hobby. For the first attempt, the issue was a lack of a buddy (my wife does NOT like the water). So I ended up only diving on occasional vacations. In many cases there is no one to dive with.

robint also has a valid point about where the first dives are. If I can get a new diver out to a great dive site within the first month or so, the diver is hooked. If all they get is a training dive
with no follow ups, then the experience isn't going to keep them diving.

 

[msg]

Money can be a factor. I would like to upgrade items, but the money isn't there. I unfortunately don't have many friends that dive or even want to, so my time does get somewhat limited. I do, however, dive as often as I can.
I think some people just have no desire to see what is in the water, "unknowns"

 

[cajunscuba]

1. Costs
2. Lace of available dive spots with clear water. (I live in Louisiana, hence that comment.)

 

[Web Monkey]

Right. But from what you are saying, the Time and Money are not obsctacles to starting. But THEY ARE obstacles to continuing - as in you need more of both to do it as much as you want...

People will think I'm crazy, but aside from travel to exotic locations (which is optional) SCUBA is actually a very inexpensive hobby once you get your own equipment.

I can spend an afternoon diving in Alexandria Bay for about $24 more than the cost of an afternoon there sitting on a park bench.

Terry

 

[String]

Cost id say is the main barrier worldwide.

Second place here its the weather.

 

[novicediver]

Actually I wish even fewer people would dive. Leave more room for me at the dive sites.

 

[Alex777]

Very few people who were born and raised on small Caribbean islands take up scuba diving. Why? These same people spend a lot of time on the water, fishing (usually for food rather than sport). Many Caribbean people can swim, and more than a few are skilled free-divers. But, even amongst those who can afford it, very few try scuba diving.

My best guess is that this state of affairs is attributable to a mixture of fear and superstition. The fear is not a fear of anything in particular, like sharks. After all, you can easily encounter a shark while free-diving. Rather, there seems to be an innate and only partly articulated belief that there is something UNNATURAL about breathing compressed air under water. It's just not something man was meant to do.

 

[jason.elias]

I wonder if another barrier is that most other things are things you can try without committing to a class. You can rent skis and go skiing with an experienced companion and give it a try, and take your lessons later if you want. You can't do that with small airplanes, but not that many people fly. Unless you're somewhere where "Discover Scuba" is available, you can't do it with scuba diving, either, and I think people are sometimes reluctant to part with the costs of a class when they aren't sure they're even going to like diving. I know I felt that way.

That's a very good point. The issue is that of course you need water to Dive. And bringing water to people can be difficult...

 

[jason.elias]

I think those people DO NOT have a good experience the first time diving after certification. Either they go someplace with lousy diving, or the dive op was lousy, or they just didn't enjoy it. So for them, it is easy to quit.

My husband is an instructor and we keep track of all his students. Most of them are very excited after getting certified with him, they can't wait to get in the ocean. I bet 80-90% of them just don't have the dives they expected on that first trip.

That is another big reason, I think. This past weekend I was talking with a woman at a BBQ, who mentioned that clearing her ears was difficult and she couldn't get down on their first open water Dive. But the REAL issue was that her DiveMaster refused to pay special attention to her, letting her struggle at the surface and then telling her to get back in the boat as he had to take care of the other 3 students getting certified. And that attitude (in apparent contrast to the way you handle your students) was a huge factor (she said) in why she didn't go back and try again... The unfortunate thing is that there is no real recourse for students like her that have a bad experience for any reason, but particularly a Divemaster.

I also know that MY first open water was in a sandy beach Dive with no visibility and a single glimpse of a tail of a fish in the murk the whole time. Luckily I didn't stop there, but I can certainly understand why that might keep most people from going again..