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

[dead dog]

so much effort and money for so little time...

Try skydiving, for even less time. lol

 

[Gone for diving]

I can't say i really enjoy swimming..
But being in the water yes.
Mask and snorkel yes, fins even better.
If I had had fins during swimming lessons I would have really loved it.

As a kid Lego space men were our scuba divers. They had the tanks and helmets.
We made boats and they would go diving and fix stuff etc.
Now there is so much cool underwater Lego.

 

[drrich2]

I guess with them, the desire wasn't there.

That's a thought. Perhaps instead of focusing just on why other people don't want to do what we do, we should ask ourselves why we don't do more of the things some of them do. For example, I've never been sky diving. It looks fun and exiting, a neat thing to try may once. And yet...never done it. If I'd grown up around friends and family who sky dove, I probably would have at some point.

I think the fundamental reason scuba diving isn't popular is that it only appeals to those people who like high adventure and high risk (relatively to other benign sports).

I would've thought something along those lines, but some years back a ScubaBoard poster with the handle RJP who worked in advertising reported some research findings and adventure/thrill-seeking wasn't high on the mainstream list of motivations in recreational diving, IIRC. It seems we're a milder bunch than we sometimes think.

 

[boulderjohn]

I would've thought something along those lines, but some years back a ScubaBoard poster with the handle RJP who worked in advertising reported some research findings and adventure/thrill-seeking wasn't high on the mainstream list of motivations in recreational diving, IIRC. It seems we're a milder bunch than we sometimes think.

I remember that, and it is true for me personally. I am not a thrill seeking, high risk activity type of person at all. I like challenges, but not the thrill of danger. I have done a lot of dives in my life, and I have never felt that I was pushing any boundaries.

Those people do exist, though. Take a look at the website of Agnes Milowka, still up more than a decade after her death. In my opinion, she loved to be close to the edge. I am a cave diver, too, but I don't do anything that is not standard and within basic training. I wouldn't dream of doing the kind of things she did, especially what she was doing when she died.

 

[tursiops]

And yet...never done it. If I'd grown up around friends and family who sky dove, I probably would have at some point.

I've tried several things because friends and family were doing them. Some stuck, some didn't. It is definitely a factor, but it just shifts the question as to why the friends and family were doing them...

Many more people try diving than stick with it. My observation is that people who stick with it do it for three major reasons: (1) their friends and family do it, so it is a social activity; (2) they enjoy what they see and do, like a walk in the woods, or observing fish behavior, or the challenge of underwater photography; amd (3) they are equipment/adventure/competition-oriented, and focus on the tools they are using and the attainment of perfection in form and low SAC rates...the underwater part is almost incidental.

SB has a lot of Type 3; very few of Type 1. The AOW-like classes from the various agencies were invented to appeal to the Type 2 folks. The younger generations are really keen on Type 1 activities.

 

[Belzelbub]

That's a thought. Perhaps instead of focusing just on why other people don't want to do what we do, we should ask ourselves why we don't do more of the things some of them do. For example, I've never been sky diving. It looks fun and exiting, a neat thing to try may once. And yet...never done it. If I'd grown up around friends and family who sky dove, I probably would have at some point.

Skydiving is a good example. I go back and forth on this one. I’m pretty sure I would enjoy it, but I’ve never done it either. I’m more drawn to the ocean than I am to the sky…or should I say land.

I would've thought something along those lines, but some years back a ScubaBoard poster with the handle RJP who worked in advertising reported some research findings and adventure/thrill-seeking wasn't high on the mainstream list of motivations in recreational diving, IIRC. It seems we're a milder bunch than we sometimes think.

If I were polled, I probably wouldn’t list thrill seeking as a motivation either. That doesn’t mean I’m not a thrill seeker. I’ve been drawn to thrilling activities for a long time. I’m sure it drove my parents crazy.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Maybe people considering taking up SCUBA joined the Board just to get more info...... and then somehow accidently ended up in The PUB and concluded that SCUBA folks are nuts.

 

[boulderjohn]

A friend of mine had a skydiving experience given to him as a birthday present. He said that during the jump, he found himself wishing the chute would fail so he could drop, die, and get it over with. I would probably be about the same.

 

[Belzelbub]

A friend of mine had a skydiving experience given to him as a birthday present. He said that during the jump, he found himself wishing the chute would fail so he could drop, die, and get it over with. I would probably be about the same.

Aside from both having diving in the name, there is a major difference between scuba diving and skydiving. Besides the air and water thing.

You can’t really thumb a skydive.

 

[scubadada]

I've tried several things because friends and family were doing them. Some stuck, some didn't. It is definitely a factor, but it just shifts the question as to why the friends and family were doing them...

Many more people try diving than stick with it. My observation is that people who stick with it do it for three major reasons: (1) their friends and family do it, so it is a social activity; (2) they enjoy what they see and do, like a walk in the woods, or observing fish behavior, or the challenge of underwater photography; amd (3) they are equipment/adventure/competition-oriented, and focus on the tools they are using and the attainment of perfection in form and low SAC rates...the underwater part is almost incidental.

SB has a lot of Type 3; very few of Type 1. The AOW-like classes from the various agencies were invented to appeal to the Type 2 folks. The younger generations are really keen on Type 1 activities.

Interesting, I guess I'm a 2/3. The only people I purposely dive with are my family. I dive with others occasionally, mostly solo. I do like what I see, very much. I'm one of the few who agreed with @tursiops that fish id and behavior can be a very valuable class. I had one of the best, in Bonaire, with Jerry Ligon in 2008. I often spend most of my dives just looking around, amazing what you will see. I do like my AI computers, my RMV is good, and I do get pretty entangled with photography at times