What is the fundamental reason that prevents scuba diving from becoming popular?

[Rick Brant]

Also check out the Nubian Dive Club. They have various dive trips and include a lot of people who look, well, Nubian! We are white but hope to join our friends who are members on a future trip.

 

[drrich2]

What’s colour got to do with scuba diving?

It should have nothing to do with it, but sadly it does. As a conservative I'm cautious and skeptical when the topic of systemic racism as a current force (there's no rational disputing it was a long-term historic reality) limiting minority opportunity in the U.S. comes up, but there's no denying some basic facts of life in America today:

1.) On a number of metrics of socioeconomic wellbeing, such as family wealth level, incarceration rates and % of children not being raised with parents both in the home, black Americans trail white Americans substantially as average trends. Thankfully an individual doesn't have to be average, but those are well-known trends. Given that biologically there's no credible basis to explain that, we turn to sociological contributors.

Was that during the American apartheid years?

Now racism is an offence enshrined in law. Certainly it is in the UK where you cannot decline services or jobs based upon colour and a bunch of other "isms".

2.) Family matters. A lot of attention in U.S. education today focuses on the lower achievement scores of students from impoverished neighborhoods (often majority non-white) compared to those from affluent (more white) neighborhoods. There is a kind of generational momentum of success and failure whereby your grandparents' and great grandparents' situations in life impacted ongoing generations.

How much of a given person's place in modern American life we should attribute to this, what it means if we accept it, and what (if anything) should be done about it, is a huge debate way outside the scope of this thread.

If you check out RBwannaScubaBad's welcome post thread, go to Post #5 by @Jim Lapenta and see that, as an instructor. In particular, consider what one of his students ran into:

One student's mother asked him why he was doing this. "Our people don't do stuff like this in the water." was what she told him.

Also in American culture today, there's a growing emphasis of the importance of seeing 'people who look like me' in media and groups, called 'representation.' Some of us who travel to dive are used to seeing a mix of nationalities, so diversity seem to be a given. I wonder whether in the U.S. and Caribbean region it looks that way to black divers?

 

[Dody]

I just cannot see what creed nor culture has to do with going diving. JFDI

I can’t see it either but I believe it is reality. I am Black. I would say that 60% of my friends are. For most of my black friends, money is not a problem, however, none of them is a diver. A minority tried and did not hook up. Most of them tell me that I am wasting my time and the hardest that I am crazy. They would drive a car at 200 mph on a track but consider that diving is too dangerous. All my diving friends are caucasians, arabs or asians.
It is also true that all my Causasians friends swim and that less than half of my Black friends can swim. But I can’t make any conclusion out of it. I taught my four kids how to dive when they were between 4 and 6 years old and they all are good divers but only one of them likes scuba diving. For the three others, it is a No even for a discovery. Maybe because their mother, my ex wife, is a competitive swimmer but never set foot in the sea. She stays on the beach. Why? I don’t have the slightest idea. I have dived in Africa, Asia, Middle East and Europe. And even in Africa, apart from the DS staff, I was the only black person with 2 or 3 exceptions. i have never met an experienced black diver. Why? I absolutely don’t know. It has to do with the lack of appeal.

 

[Dody]

It should have nothing to do with it, but sadly it does. As a conservative I'm cautious and skeptical when the topic of systemic racism as a current force (there's no rational disputing it was a long-term historic reality) limiting minority opportunity in the U.S. comes up, but there's no denying some basic facts of life in America today:

1.) On a number of metrics of socioeconomic wellbeing, such as family wealth level, incarceration rates and % of children not being raised with parents both in the home, black Americans trail white Americans substantially as average trends. Thankfully an individual doesn't have to be average, but those are well-known trends. Given that biologically there's no credible basis to explain that, we turn to sociological contributors.

2.) Family matters. A lot of attention in U.S. education today focuses on the lower achievement scores of students from impoverished neighborhoods (often majority non-white) compared to those from affluent (more white) neighborhoods. There is a kind of generational momentum of success and failure whereby your grandparents' and great grandparents' situations in life impacted ongoing generations.

How much of a given person's place in modern American life we should attribute to this, what it means if we accept it, and what (if anything) should be done about it, is a huge debate way outside the scope of this thread.

If you check out RBwannaScubaBad's welcome post thread, go to Post #5 by @Jim Lapenta and see that, as an instructor. In particular, consider what one of his students ran into:


Also in American culture today, there's a growing emphasis of the importance of seeing 'people who look like me' in media and groups, called 'representation.' Some of us who travel to dive are used to seeing a mix of nationalities, so diversity seem to be a given. I wonder whether in the U.S. and Caribbean region it looks that way to black divers?

1) and 2) are wrong in my opinion. I am from a very very privileged background, financially, socially and education wise. It does not change the fact that none of my black friends are interested in diving.
On the other hand, the fact that you very rarely see black divers might have an impact on the appeal that the sport have on black people.

 

[drrich2]

1) and 2) are wrong in my opinion.

There are also many Caucasians who are financially well off, in decent health and know some people who dive, and yet do not dive themselves. But I understand what you're saying. It would be interesting to know what participation levels are between blacks and whites if one controls for socioeconomic 'class' (e.g.: education and family wealth level).

 

[Wibble]

Kind of similar to the sailing fraternity. Rarely see tanned faces.

Then again, the afro-carribean population of the UK is around 3.5% and definitely mostly living in large cities (London, Manchester, Birmingham). City dwellers aren't known for their love of seafaring. It's rare to see non-white faces living in the countryside -- maybe the country smells put them off

(Population estimates by ethnic group and religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics)

 

[Dody]

I have lived in Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei and Perth (Australia) for five years during my twenties and not a single time have I ever considered diving. When I think about it today, I feel like I missed a lot. Then, at 51 years old, during the pandemic, I moved to Cape Verde. I started to look at what I could do while not working. And I have had over 100 dives in the following 12 months in this country alone. I have always been a frequent traveler and today, I don’t go anywhere where I can’t dive unless I am forced to. Scuba diving appeal can come many ways, at all ages, or not come at all. It’s not like (real) football, basketball, tennis or even swimming. Difficult to know why.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I have lived in Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei and Perth (Australia) for five years during my twenties and not a single time have I ever considered diving. When I think about it today, I feel like I missed a lot. Then, at 51 years old, during the pandemic, I moved to Cape Verde. I started to look at what I could do while not working. And I have had over 100 dives in the following 12 months in this country alone. I have always been a frequent traveler and today, I don’t go anywhere where I can’t dive unless I am forced to. Scuba diving appeal can come many ways, at all ages, or not come at all. It’s not like (real) football, basketball, tennis or even swimming. Difficult to know why.

The more that I dove, the more addicted I became.

 

[Bob DBF]

A buddy and coworker of mine explained it to me when we went to USCGA boating classes, he said his family hadn't been on a boat since they were brought here and thought him crazy for having a boat or being near the water. Of course he had an interesting sense of humor. He also thought diving was pushing it a bit too far, even for him.

 

[Gone for diving]

What I never really understood was how in the " old days" with sailing ships how few sailors knew how to swim...
I do realize wetsuits where not designed and if water temps are cold their would be less appeal...
Also life was alot harder, and maybe to expend that kinda energy was not worth it, (just thinking )